


Quarry

by matrixaffiliate



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2020-09-25 10:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 85
Words: 88,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20375617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matrixaffiliate/pseuds/matrixaffiliate
Summary: Marlene has sworn to protect Princess Lily, which means she's going to be following her on a runaway journey from the arranged marriage Petunia has put together. Sirius has sworn to protect King James, which means he's going to be following him on a secret mission to find out what's going on in the faraway country of Privet, and why they want him to marry their princess.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A Blackinnon and Jily Royal AU! women-inthe-sequel reblogged this prompt on Tumblr (https://women-inthe-sequel.tumblr.com/post/186012900736/please-someone-write-this-im-a-sucker-for-royal ) and my mind ran away with it. I'm going to be updating this one weekly and I'll post two chapters each week. One week will be our lovely ladies Marlene and Lily, and the next week will be our wonderful Marauders Sirius and James. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Prompt: A princess runs away because of an arranged marriage, befriends a gang of outlaws, falls in love with one of them, only to find out he is actually the prince who she was supposed to marry, who also ran away.

**Marlene**:

This was an absolutely awful idea. Horrible. Stupid.

"Really, Lil's, let's think this through!" Marlene pleaded as Lily threw more things into her rucksack. "I know you're angry, trust me, I'm livid! These new proclamations mean my family has to leave the kingdom too! But it's not like you're going into potentially hostile territory by yourself. I'm going with you, and I'll protect you as I always have. I won't leave your side, I swear it!"

Lily just gave her a sardonic laugh.

Marlene eyed the princess she'd sworn to protect, "When has any royal demand stopped me from holding my oath?"

Lily shook her head, "This isn't going to be Petunia and Vernon power playing and having to fulfill the wishes of my dead parents. You're saying you're prepared to go to the chopping block for murdering a foreign king in the name of protecting his queen from him?"

Marlene grabbed Lily's arm as she reached for another item. "No! I'm saying I'll go to the chopping block protecting my best friend at any cost!"

That seemed to do it, at least Lily stopped haphazardly throwing things into the sack she'd somehow procured.

"Mar..."

"Lils, please..."

"I'm sorry, Mar," Lily shook her head, "I release you from your oath. You no longer need to protect me. I'm done being a princess."

Marlene managed to maintain enough self-control to not smack her best friend across the face. "Did you grab a second rucksack or do I need to go rummage one up myself?"

"You don't need to come," Lily shook her head.

"Like hell, I don't!" Marlene snapped. "Now give me my sac!"

Lily grinned, "I knew you'd come around."

"We need to stop by my parents' on our way out of the country. It would be best for them and my sister to make their way out before your sister and her pig husband connect the dots to them." Marlene took the proffered sac from her best friend. "Now I'm going to go pack every weapon a highway-woman would need to protect a former princess."

"I'm not totally inept," Lily glared daggers at her and Marlene blew her a kiss.

"I know love, but you didn't spend years training to kill a man with your bare hands. However, your bow skills will be immensely helpful in making sure we eat."

Lily stuck her tongue out at her as Marlene slipped into her room.

To get to the princess' room you had to go through her guardian's room, and that was Marlene. She'd been made Lily's official protector when they were sixteen, taking a magical oath to protect Lily at any cost, but her family had been looking after Lily for much longer than that. When Lily showed magical abilities the King and Queen had sought out magical families to tutor her, and the McKinnon's had been selected. From about nine years old, Lily had been a second sister to Marlene. When the King died after falling from his horse when the girls were fourteen, the Queen went into a deep depression. She asked the McKinnon's to house and care for the princess and that was when Lily moved in permanently.

Until the Queen died two years later.

Petunia and her new husband took over the kingdom then. They ordered the return of the princess, and McKinnon's were worried. They insisted that Marlene accompany Lily as her protector. Told the royal couple that they'd get both girls or neither of them.

Marlene smiled as she remembered how angry Vernon had been, but how the young King finally caved.

Then Marlene's dad contacted members of the royal guard he trusted, and Marlene began training to protect Lily not simply with magic, but also with skill and strength and weaponry.

Merlin, it was fun!

Now, three years later, Marlene was going to have to really use those skills. Vernon had decided he was done living with magic folk and was kicking them all out of the country. Lily was being married off to some unknown king in a country called Godric's Hollow, far away from their home of Privet. Vernon told Lily that it was the only way he could see to be rid of her while following her dead parents' wishes and Petunia said she hoped the man treated Lily as the scum she was.

Marlene nearly cut their throats out.

That had been this morning.

Marlene changed into traveling clothes and threw two more sets into the sac before opening her personal armory. She couldn't carry it all, which made her feel like she was going to be leaving behind one of her limbs. She was going to make Lily get her a new set once things settled down. Marlene slid her three hidden daggers into place, belted on her rapier, coiled her silk strangling cord neatly before concealing it, and secured her wand in its holster.

Now to see if Lily had thought far enough into this crazy plan to consider a tent.


	2. Chapter 2

**Lily:**

"I don't like it one bit, Lily," Angus grunted.

Lily sighed and looked at Marlene. "We could have avoided all this and just snuck away."

Marlene shook her head. "Dad's right. The King of Godric's Hollow is a definite unknown, but running away like this could put a price on your head that people would be very willing to collect upon."

"And going there willingly is likely to end up with the both of us dead, or worse!" Lily spat back.

How could they not see this? It was so obvious!

"You saw how pleased Petunia and Vernon were this morning when they summoned us before reading that new proclamation! There is no way that this toe-rag is kind to magic users! We go and we might as well hold our funerals now!"

The room was silent a moment and Lily tried to breathe slowly as the McKinnon's shared a long look.

"You'll go whether we try and stop you or not, right?" Elspeth finally asked her.

"Mum!" Mar tried to object but Lily cut her off.

"Yes!" Lily nodded, "I'm not going to be sent to my death quietly."

"What about the magic users," Marlene tried again. "Will you abandon them? Why not rise up? Lead a revolution and take the crown?"

"Marlene, dear, you know very well that we will be fine. Magic users have had to go underground before, this isn't the first time and probably won't be the last." Angus sighed heavily before turning back to Lily.

"Where will you go?"

Lily rolled out her map. "I figured we'd cut across this small section of Knockturn and then go down into Diagon. If we find a place that suits us we could set up lives there. If not there are Ottery and Hogsmeade. They both border Godric's Hollow though so I don't fancy being there."

"You should just take the extra day's journey and avoid Knockturn altogether." Elspeth pointed to the map. "Knockturn isn't someplace to get caught in. They're not kind to anyone, including themselves, and their forests are full of monsters. It's worth the extra day to enter Diagon from Privet's border."

"We'll see," Lily nodded. She knew Petunia would send people after them, and she didn't know if she had time for that extra day's journey.

"Mar," Angus summoned ink and quill, "These are the names of magic users in Diagon that I know. They'll help you. When you do finally settle in a spot, write and we'll travel and join you. You're going to need extra protection with both Privet and Godric's Hollow looking for you, Lily."

"You know," Elspeth took Lily's hand, "when I was a little girl, I traveled to Godric's Hollow and it was a wonderful place with people who were very kind."

Lily smiled sadly. "The same could be said of the people of Privet. But look at who rules our kingdom. I don't trust anything that makes my sister as happy as she is. The people may be kind, but their king most likely isn't."

Mar took the paper from her dad and shook it to dry the ink. "Alright, let's get a move on. I want to be long gone when the sun comes up."

Lily looked closely at her oldest friend. "Why are you suddenly on board?"

"Because," Mar kissed her mum's cheek, "I first had to make sure you were serious. Now I know you are and that means we're losing moonlight."

Lily rolled her eyes. Marlene had been like this since they were girls, always holding out till she was sure Lily's mind was set.

Lily hugged her second parents tightly before sneaking into Catherine's room with Marlene to kiss her goodbye. Then it was out into the dark.

They traveled in silence, focusing on the sounds around them. For the most part, everything was still, and most noises they could identify. When the sun began to crest over the horizon, they moved off the road and into the forest, pulling their hoods far over their faces. Women traveling alone often gained attention. Women traveling alone with auburn hair and golden hair gained a lot more attention. It was slower to walk in the trees, but safer. It was when they'd stopped for a moment to eat that Lily saw what she'd been waiting for all day.

Soldiers.

Through the trees, she saw a patrol coming up the road. Marlene pulled her wand first, casting them invisible before motioning for Lily to follow her closer to the road.

"Should we be searching in the trees?" One soldier asked.

"No," another responded. "Queen Petunia says this is just the princess throwing a fit. She'll most likely be in an inn along one of the roads. Besides, this road leads to Knockturn, there's no way she'd go there."

"If you say so."

Lily held her breath until the soldiers were out of sight.

"Well, I guess we're going to be using the invisibility charms before we even make it to Knockturn." Mar sighed as they moved back to their packs.

Lily nodded, "It also means we're not stopping until we cross into Knockturn."

"That won't be until after dark."

Lily picked up her pack and slung it over her shoulder, "I know."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy Sirius and James this week! Marlene and Lily will be back on Saturday, September 7th!

**Sirius:**

The things he did for his king. Merlin, this was ridiculous!

Sirius loved James, he'd taken the oath as his guardian and companion at arms with a great deal of pride, but right now he wanted to beat some sense into his best friend and brother.

They could have hired spies for this work, but no. James wanted to find out for himself. Wanted to know if the rumors that Privet was burning magic users were true. He had this whole elaborate plan to accept Privet's offer to marry their princess just to see if he needed to orchestrate a rescue mission of the magic users and get them set up in his own kingdom.

But Sirius had to acknowledge that it was in James' nature to save people. Sirius himself a classic example.

Sirius was born in Knockturn near the border of Godric's Hollow. He would sneak away to the other kingdom for nothing more than peace at first, but then he met James riding around the countryside. At the time Sirius had no idea he had met the crown prince, but he liked James immediately. He also liked that magic in Godric's Hollow wasn't so awful and dark. And he would often have James teach him the spells and incantations James learned in his studies. They spent so many hours practicing as well as making up their own spells.

But when Sirius' parents found out what he was up to when he disappeared for hours on end, well, Sirius doesn't think about that much. He stumbled across the border, walking until he found James at their regular meeting spot, and told James he was officially homeless and would just live in their little hideout.

James took him home. And Sirius found out he was best friends with the Crown Prince of Godric's Hollow. King Monty and Queen Mia were the parents he should have been born to. The fact that they were gone and his biological parents were still alive was a testament to how cruel the world could be.

And the fact that he was walking in the muck that peppered Knockturn while Remus and Peter "minded the shop," as James so eloquently put it, was a testament that if you're friends with a hero-complexed idiot then you'll be the idiot that follows him.

"James, the sun is setting. Let's set up camp and cast our wards. I'm not traveling through Knockturn at night again."

"But we managed alright the first night," James countered.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Yes but the second and third night that we walked we spent the majority of it fighting off highwaymen and things we couldn't see because it was too dark. Plus, we've only slept for maybe fifteen hours over the last four days. We'll stop here, get a full night's rest, and then we'll cross over into Privet and start snooping around."

"What if I commanded you to keep walking?" James smirked at him.

"Then I'd do what our dear mother would have done and smack you upside the head." Sirius pulled out the tent and waved it into place with his wand. "Just start on the wards James, you know I'm right."

James huffed, "I _suppose_ you're right. I won't be much good at figuring out what's actually happening in Privet if I'm too exhausted to remember anything anyone says to me about it."

"Exactly," Sirius grinned, "you catch on very quickly your majesty."

"Oh, shove it, Sirius," James muttered. "Shall I make the whole campsite invisible as well?"

"Nah," Sirius shook his head, "just make it so we hear anyone and anything coming."

Sirius moved into the tent and began putting everything back in order. This tent needed some repairs once they were home. Nothing stayed on the shelves when it was collapsed and folded up. But they didn't know that until too far into their journey to do anything about it, and tent repair spells were not something Sirius knew much about.

By the time James made it inside, Sirius had started on supper.

"Smells good," James walked over to the stove.

"It better, it was Dad's favorite recipe."

"You got to learn all the cool stuff," James laughed. "They were so focused on teaching me to run the kingdom that they forgot about the cooking classes."

"And how to comb your hair," Sirius quipped before ducking out of James' reach.

"My hair? Really Sirius?"

"I'm tired, I'll have better jabs after I have a hot meal and a full night's sleep. Now let's eat and then I'm going to curl up in a ball and pass out." Sirius handed James a plate.

And true to his word, Sirius was sound asleep once they'd cleaned up dinner.

But he was rudely brought awake around midnight by the sound of a blood-curdling scream.


	4. Chapter 4

**James:**

Sirius was right, but James still couldn't calm the nervous energy inside him enough to sleep. He was so close. They were almost there. They would have answers in a few short hours.

How on Earth did Sirius except him to sleep?

When James assumed the throne he didn't realize how confusing it would be. He had members of court spewing all sorts of stories. Some of them James could easily get to the bottom of. James was good friends with King Arthur and Queen Molly of Ottery. Queen Rosmerta in Hogsmeade had him over once a quarter to talk shop, and reminisce about how much she'd respected and loved his mother. And King Cornelius of Diagon at least was concerned enough with keeping his throne, after having assumed it when his cousin died childless, that he was always honest with James.

King Borgin of Knockturn was best just left alone. Thankfully, Knockturn was pretty consistent in throwing the good things they had out and keeping the bad things in.

But Privet was weird.

After the new King and Queen assumed control, the communication between Godric's Hollow and Privet came to a complete halt. It hadn't necessarily been amazing the years preceding the heiress' assumption, but James found records showing there was at least the occasional letter passed between his father and the former king. But after a messenger his parents sent had been informed the Queen was dead, the new rulers told them they'd be in touch if they needed anything. That was nearly four years ago.

Then randomly about a month ago, one of Privet's messengers shows up asking if James would be interested in having their princess to wed, no strings attached other than he absolutely could not send her back. This combined with the rumors that Privet wasn't safe for magic users left James feeling uneasy.

Something was weird and James intended to get to the bottom of it. He rolled over to try and force himself to sleep, feeling confident that he'd find the answers one way or another.

And then someone screamed.

It was the kind of scream that makes your blood run cold. James jumped up only to be beat to the tent entrance by Sirius. How that man went from dead asleep to full action still baffled James.

Sirius motioned James to stop at the tent flap, glaring when James pushed the flap open far enough to see. Then the wards went off, and out of the darkness came two figures. One was running backward as it fired arrows into the black forest, the other was casting spells with one hand while the other held a rapier battling off a large winged beast.

James pulled his wand and ran out to help.

"James!" Sirius called but James didn't turn back. He wasn't going to let these two travelers get eaten by, well, whatever those were.

He heard Sirius curse and come running behind him as more of the beasts came out of the night. Then the four of them were fighting the attacking flock. James found himself almost back to back with the archer as they plucked the beats from the air one by one. It was over rather quickly. Once the beasts started falling from the sky they decided that the chance at a meal wasn't worth the cost and retreated back into the trees.

It was then that James bothered to really look at the pair of travelers, and noticed they were women, most specifically that the archer was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her red hair shown in the dim light of their wands, but then she stepped closer to him and his wand light caught glimpse of her green eyes. James wanted to know everything about this archer, preferably not while they were defending their lives against monsters.

"Lils, give me your arm," the blonde woman pulled her companion closer.

"It's nothing," the archer pulled back.

"Lils I swear on Merlin's grave I will march us right back to your dear sister if you don't let me look at your arm!"

James stepped back, the blonde sword wielder definitely looked like she was ready to stab something. He didn't want to appear too available.

"We, we have a tent, just over there," James stepped back again.

"James," Sirius interrupted but James held up his hand.

"You're welcome to come in and treat any wounds you might have."

Sirius huffed but James ignored him, focusing on the archer. She smiled at him, and James felt his heart jump in his chest.

"Thank you, we'll take you up on that tent. We won't stay too long."

"Nonsense," James shook his head, "you're welcome to stay as long as you need."

She held out her hand, "I'm Lily."

James took her hand and turned it, bowing slightly as he brought it to his lips, "James."

"You mentioned your tent," the blond woman pulled Lily back.

"Right this way," James turned, noticing Sirius immediately stepped between him and the women. James sighed, Sirius was going to be cross with him now, but a part of him didn't care in the slightest.

Lily was coming back to his tent.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you again on Saturday!

**Marlene:**

Marlene put herself between Lily and the two men. She really didn't want to go into their tent, but as Lily had forced her hand, Marlene gritted her teeth and walked into what could very well be hostile territory.

She studied the two men closely. James had a much lighter feel about him than his companion. The man with black hair seemed to be mirroring her movements toward Lily, except James was his charge. He watched them both closely and did his very best to keep himself between James and them, just as Marlene did with Lily. If James had a guardian he was obviously more than a random traveler, which put Marlene even more on edge. Especially because only an idiot couldn't see he was taken with Lily.

She ushered Lily into the tent, holding her ground against the black-haired man as he sized her up. It reminded her of two bears crossing next to each other's territory, deciding if they were worth the fight.

"Do you need anything to look after your arm?" James' question to Lily pulled both Marlene and the black-haired man back to the present.

"I have it all, Lily."

Marlene quickly moved to where Lily had sat down, gently pulling Lily's sleeve up to try and see where the talons had sunk in. Lily hissed and Marlene let go of the fabric.

"I'll fix your sleeve," Marlene assured her as she pulled out her wand and severed the sleeve so the fabric fell right off the wound.

One of the beasts had snagged Lily's arm as she had reached back for an arrow and Marlene wanted someone to smack her for allowing Lily to be injured. Marlene gently cleaned the sores before applying a salve and wrapping it in bandages. Finally fixing the sleeve of Lily's shirt and standing.

"There, now we can go find a place to set up camp and let you rest." Marlene pulled her pack back on and turned to grab Lily's.

"You ought to stay here," James interrupted.

"James," the black-haired man hissed, but James held his hand up. Marlene tried to catch the other man's eyes, but he stared straight at James.

"That's kind," Marlene nodded, "but…"

"I think it's a fine idea," Lily interrupted.

Marlene blinked, "Lily, we have a tent and supplies, no sense in putting these men out more than we have already."

Lily shook her head, "I'll be little use to you in setting up, and we can trade them some of our food so it's fair."

"That's not necessary," James interrupted, "we have plenty and to spare."

"Well then we'll pay you," Lily shrugged, "but either way I think it's best that we stay here with James and…" she turned to the dark-haired man.

"Oh, this is my brother, Sirius," James filled in when Sirius didn't answer for himself.

"And this is my sister, Marlene," Lily gestured to Marlene. "See, now we all know each other and can get some sleep. Then we'll be on our separate ways in the morning."

Marlene glared at her. Lily might sleep tonight, but Marlene definitely would not.

Lily was never one to fall for a pretty face and Marlene wondered if the wound on her arm was affecting her normal judgment.

James offered to conjure up cots on the other side of the tent from the ones set up for him and Sirius, but Marlene insisted she conjure them herself. Lily was very quickly asleep, but Marlene sat up on her cot and watched. James was soon asleep as well, but Sirius mirrored her position, sitting on his cot, watching the tent by the combined light of dying embers inside the small stove and the moon shining in through the small window.

Marlene could feel the weariness seeping into her skin and down to her bones, but she refused to give these men the opportunity to harm Lily. Something was off about their behavior and Marlene had no desire to be around long enough to discover what it was.

She could see the weariness in Sirius too. His posture didn't change, and he didn't speak, but his face was lit by the moonlight coming in from the window and his eyes were heavy with deep circles beneath them. It was probably an hour after their companions had fallen asleep that he finally spoke.

"Merlin, I'm tired."

She wasn't sure what made her respond but she gave in to the weakness and nodded.

"I can relate."

"You protect her." He said it as a statement he already knew to be true

"And you him," Marlene added with the same surety.

Sirius held her eyes, "On our oaths, can we guarantee each other the rest of the night to sleep."

Part of Marlene wanted to hug this man. She was exhausted and emotionally spent and he'd just offered a truce that would let get some rest. The other part of her wanted to ask questions. If they had both taken oaths then both knew the other's charge was far more than a simple traveler. But if he could swear on his oath, then he knew the consequences of breaking that promise, which meant Lily would definitely be safe.

"Yes," Marlene let her shoulders slump.

Sirius dropped his head to his chest, "Thank you," he sighed heavily.

Marlene pulled her blanket over her as she laid back and tucked her wand under her pillow.

"Marlene," Sirius' voice called from the dimly lit tent.

"Hmmm?"

"You look nothing like your sister."

Marlene smiled, "And you look nothing like your brother."

He chuckled in the darkness and the sound felt warm in her chest as Marlene succumbed to her exhaustion and slept.


	6. Chapter 6

**Lily:**

One of the most frustrating parts of having a guardian was their stubborn insistence on driving themselves into the ground for the sake of the one they protect.

So when Lily saw a chance at giving Marlene some rest, she seized upon it.

James and Sirius were obviously not going to hurt them. She didn't necessarily trust them, but Lily was positive they weren't going to turn hostile. Her first clue was that they ran to help fight off the beasts. With the wards she felt when they triggered them, the two men could have simply placed a shield around their tent and waited for the beasts to either kill her and Marlene or be driven off. But they didn't wait, they didn't hide, they ran out and fought. Her second clue made her the surest that they were safe. James was smitten with her. She normally wasn't too keen on the idea of courting, and she wasn't actually thinking of it now, but she _was_ willing to use James' infatuation to pull a decent night's sleep for Marlene out of it.

And Lily smiled broadly when she awoke and saw Marlene sleeping soundly on the cot next to her.

Quietly as she could manage, Lily sat up and looked around the tent. The light spilling in the window was bright and from an angle that told Lily it wasn't too far past sunrise. She noticed that Sirius was also still asleep, but that James wasn't in his cot. Moving slowly, Lily made her way to the tent flap and stuck her head out to find James sitting on a blanket while spinning his wand around his fingers.

"Good morning," she whispered and sat down on the blanket with him.

"Good morning," he smiled at her, a genuine smile, one that made Lily feel just the slightest bit guilty about using his feelings towards her for her own needs. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Very well, thank you." She smiled back. "Once my sister wakes up well be on our way."

"Where are you coming from, if you don't mind my asking?" James grinned as he managed to spin his wand up into the air and catch it.

Lily hesitated. She wasn't sure she wanted him knowing she was from Privet, but she felt she owed this man something after he'd helped save them and then housed them for a night. When he turned and smiled at her again, Lily decided it probably wouldn't hurt anything in the long run if he knew where she'd grown up.

"We're from Privet."

"Really?" James perked up. "I've always wondered what it's like there. Some strange rumors have been going about."

"What sort of rumors?" Lily tried to not let her face betray her concern.

"That it isn't a safe place for magic users, mostly. Some even say they're burning folks like us."

Lily laughed out of relief, which caused James to look at her funny.

"They aren't true, are they?"

"Well," Lily chuckled, "the King and Queen just proclaimed that magic users have to leave the country so my sister and I are on our way to find a new start. But no one is being burned at the stake, no."

"Wait," James looked horrified, "they're just making you leave?"

"Pretty much," Lily shrugged, "Mar and I decided to get out before they _made_ us get out but at some point, all the magic users will either need to go underground or relocate."

"They need to come to Godric's Hollow," James says absently.

"Are you from Godric's Hollow?" Lily's curiosity took hold as she watched him zone into his head.

James blinked as her question pulled him back, "Oh, yes, born and raised."

"What's it like?" Lily tried to not look as interested as she felt.

"It's the best place in the world," James sighed happily. "Part of our country borders the sea, and then the mountains to the north are the most majestic things I've ever seen."

"What about your King?" Lily looked down at the blanket.

She watched James' hand tense over his leg as he answered, "What about him?"

"Well," Lily picked at a thread on the blanket, "my King and Queen just kicked me out of my home because I use magic. So how would your King handle my sister and me?"

"The King of Godric's Hollow is a magic user," James chuckled and Lily watched his whole body relax. "So I'd bet a decent sum he'd welcome you into his kingdom, along with all of the other magic users from Privet and anyone else in your country who doesn't want to live under a King and Queen who think it's alright to treat their subjects like dirt." He said the last bit almost vehemently.

Lily paused at his words.

Perhaps she'd made a mistake? She still didn't want to be married off without choice, but perhaps she'd misjudged Godric's Hollow, and its King?

"Where do you think you'll go?" James pulled Lily from her thoughts.

"We know of some magic users in Diagon," Lily shrugged.

James frowned, "I've spent some time in Diagon. It's having a bit of a rough time right now. Their king died childless and his cousin inherited the throne. He's struggling to maintain power right now. You'd be better off in Ottery or Godric's Hollow. Hogsmeade would work alright too, but they're small and are having a hard time with resources. I'm not sure how many more people they could realistically sustain."

"We'll think about it," Lily mirrored his frown.

She was quickly realizing that her parents' decision to have her focus on her magical training had left Lily a very adept magic-user at the expense of any political knowledge. She had no idea what was actually happening outside of Privet and thinking about it now, she knew very little of what happened within Privet too, only what Vernon and Petunia were willing to tell her. A small worry that maybe she'd blown this entire thing out of proportion began to gnaw at the back of her mind.

Then the tent flap opened and Marlene stuck her head outside. "Come in and eat, we've got a long way to go yet." She disappeared behind the canvas as Lily tried to figure out what all this new information meant for her and Marlene.

James stood and offered Lily his hand. "Breakfast will be good, my brother, for all his faults, cooks rather well."

Lily laughed and took his hand, ignoring how right it felt for his hand to be wrapped around hers, and how cold it felt when he let go as they walked inside the tent.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early Update! I'm hoping to get in one last day of climbing in tomorrow before the snow pushes us into ski season. See you again next Saturday!

**Sirius:**

Sirius woke feeling better than he had in days. He opened his eyes and immediately turned to James' cot, which was empty, just as Sirius had expected it to be. James had been up early every day of this crazy quest. Sirius listened carefully and could hear James talking to Lily outside.

Sirius rolled over and found Marlene still asleep on her cot across the tent.

The blonde woman was dangerous.

Yes, she was dangerous because he'd seen her fight off the beasts with skill and ferocity, but mostly because she had managed to get Sirius to admit weakness in front of her. She knew more than he wanted anyone out here to know about himself and James. She'd surmised as much on her own, obviously, but he'd confirmed her suspicions. She'd been kind enough to put them on a level playing field, admitting that she and Lily were not all they appeared either, but that didn't put Sirius at ease; if anything it made him more on edge.

As he continued to watch her sleep, part of his mind wandered, noticing that Marlene's curls shimmered in the morning sunlight like the golden threads in the tapestries that adorned his room back in Godric's Hollow. When she slept, the hardened face of a trained guardian he'd observed the previous night was replaced by softness like that of the master painters' portraits. He wondered what it might feel like to run his calloused hand along the smooth skin of her cheek.

But then she stirred and reality hit Sirius right back to where he needed to be: on his guard.

Marlene did exactly as he had done when he woke. She turned directly to Lily's cot, apparently not prepared to find it empty as she bolted upright and listened intently. The quiet whispers of James and Lily flitted through the tent flap and she relaxed slightly. Then her ice blue eyes sought his, and she smiled at him.

"Thank you, for last night," she pushed her curls out of her face and began to plait them.

"Thank you," Sirius nodded.

She glanced back at the tent flap "Looks like our brother and sister are equal handfuls."

Sirius chuckled, "Best to keep them apart, they'll make our roles a right pain if we don't."

"Good point," Marlene stood, "The sooner I get us where we're going the better."

"I'll throw some breakfast together," Sirius stood to move to the small stove, "James will call us inhospitable if we don't feed you and your sister."

"I'll pay you for the food and for housing us," Marlene started digging in her bag, but Sirius had an idea.

"I have a different proposition," he stepped closer to her, suddenly realizing the woman was rather short as she stood next to him. "We both know more than we ought about each other, right?"

Marlene's eyes hardened instantly and she stood rigid by his side.

"Rather than giving us money, say we never saw each other. No one came and helped you last night. No men by our names were in this forest. And in turn, we never met women traveling this way." Sirius stared down at her and watched as some of the ice in her eyes melted away.

"Deal," she held out her hand and Sirius shook it, surprised by both the smallness of it and the strength behind it.

"Good," Sirius felt relief wash over him, causing him to forget to let go of her hand.

"Do you want some help with breakfast?" Her voice was softer, smooth like the skin on her cheeks.

Sirius nodded, not sure what exactly was happening, but he comforted the part of himself that was ringing alarm bells by assuring it that whatever was happening would end the moment he and Marlene parted ways.

Her hand slipped from his and they moved to the small stove. They spoke quietly as they warmed the slices of bread and cured meat from the food pack. They shared what the terrain they'd come over was like, warning each other of what was ahead. And while the conversation was anything but cheery, Sirius felt a calm reassurance in Marlene's voice. As though it would all be well, simply because it was being said in her voice.

"I'll just grab our siblings," Marlene wiped her hands before heading to the tent flap. She stuck her head outside to collect James and Lily, and Sirius paused to watch her. Maybe in a different world, he'd try to win her over. But this was not even remotely close to that world where options like that existed, and so he pushed the thought away and set out their food.

Sirius and Marlene ate quietly, listening to James and Lily talk about Privet and Godric's Hollow. Every now and then, one of the two would say something and Sirius would catch Marlene's eye, sharing a private laugh as their charges swapped stories. Sirius didn't allow his mind to dwell over Marlene being from Privet. It wasn't important since he'd never see her again after they parted ways.

Breaking down camp happened rather quickly after that, and before Sirius knew it, the pairs had bid each other goodbye and given final reassurance that they had never seen the other.

He made it four steps toward Privet before turning around.

"Marlene," her name escaped his lips before his brain could stop him. She turned instantly, however, ice blue eyes finding his.

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself," he held her gaze, not sure why he stopped her, why he'd said those words, but knowing that he needed just a bit more before she disappeared from his life forever.

She smiled at him, the kind of smile that could compete with the sun in brightness. "You too, Sirius."

He felt the smile break across his lips of its own accord. She held his gaze for a moment longer before turning away. Sirius turned then too, feeling just a bit put out that it was the last time he'd see Marlene.


	8. Chapter 8

**James:**

James had a plan, a brilliant plan, he just had to figure out how to get Sirius to agree to it. But he was rudely pulled from his plotting by Sirius' elbow bumping his side.

"You want to ask them?" Sirius pointed to a few men working on a barn.

James nodded, still focused on figuring out how to get Sirius on board to catch up with Lily, as they slowed their place.

"Good morning," Sirius called out.

"Good morning," one of the men waved.

"Would you be able to give us some information about what's ahead?"

The man that had waved shrugged. "Not much, you're about two day's journey from our capital and there are several villages between here and there."

Then one of the other men spoke quietly to the unofficial spokesman.

"You'll want to be aware that we have some soldiers patrolling lately."

"Soldiers?" James raised his eyebrows, maybe the rumors were more true than Lily led him to believe.

"The Queen's little sister has run off. The rumors are that she was going to be married off to the King of Godric's Hollow and she didn't like the idea. She's been missing for two days now."

"Why not?" James asked before he could think better of it.

The man shook his head, "Who knows why a woman does what she does."

Sirius shot James a glare before smiling at the man, "Not I, my friend. We appreciate your time, good luck on your barn."

He then grabbed James' arm and pulled him down the road.

"May I remind you that while you're hiding in potentially hostile territory your concern for the Crown's public image is the last thing you should be worried about?" Sirius hissed.

James ignored him, "We should try and find one of those patrols. They'll have more information on what's going on."

"Agreed," Sirius picked up their pace. "Then we'll turn around and go home. If the princess is really missing then there's likely to be a much more thorough search done in the next day or two. The sooner we're gone the better."

James considered his options while they walked. He definitely wanted to turn around as soon as he knew what was going on.

He wanted to catch up to Lily.

Something about her situation seemed off. He didn't notice droves of magic users running from Privet, or even making preparations to leave. So why would Lily and her sister feel the need to run, traveling through Knockturn at night no less? He wasn't sure how he'd convince Sirius that they needed to catch up, but James was pretty convinced he had to.

It wasn't more than an hour after speaking to the men at the barn when the first patrol came walking toward them.

"Good morning," Sirius greeted them before putting a step between James and the patrol. James resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Sirs," the leading soldier nodded.

"Any word of what lies ahead of us?" Sirius asked, "Your path ahead is rather dull."

The soldier eyed Sirius and James, "You're not from here, are you?"

"From Diagon actually," James lied easily.

The soldier looked unsure for a moment before reaching into his bag.

"We're searching for a lost person," he unrolled a small painting. "Have you seen this woman?"

James nearly fainted as he beheld the image.

It was Lily.

"I'm afraid we haven't," Sirius' voice echoed in James' mind as he beheld Lily's image. "Has the poor girl been abducted?"

"We aren't sure, but she is very missed by her family. We're doing our best to find her."

James almost objected when the soldier rolled the painting back up.

"Best of luck in your journey, we'll be sure to keep an eye out for her." Sirius' arm wrapped around James' and gave a firm tug.

James followed, his mind spinning.

"We have to go find them," James finally spoke when the soldiers were far enough away.

"James…" Sirius' tensed.

"No, Sirius, my bride is out there in Diagon with no protection…"

"She's plenty protected," Sirius snapped at him.

James frowned, "Do you mean Marlene?"

"She's Lily's guardian," Sirius nodded, "the woman could probably kill you in her sleep."

James didn't miss the ghost of a smile on his brother's lips.

"Well," James' mind was moving very fast now, "maybe we just help them make their way to their new home. We could go catch up and help them see that Godric's Hollow is the best choice."

"And what happens when she realizes you're the King she's running from?" Sirius snapped at him.

James frowned, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but right now I'm worried that her crazy sister is going to put a price on her head and that Marlene's going to die defending Lily from someone trying to collect on that price and then Lily shows up to Godric's Hollow in chains hating me before she even gets to know me."

Something he said gave Sirius pause and James grinned, he'd won. He wasn't sure how but he had. This wasn't the original plan James had thought up, he didn't have all the information he'd originally come to Privet to discover, but none of it mattered right now. Lily needed to make it to Godric's Hollow as soon as possible and Sirius was going to help him make that happen.

James hadn't even needed to pull rank.

"I hate you," Sirius huffed, "let's move into the trees and cast invisibility charms. We'll need to move fast if we're going to catch up to them."

James hid his smile as they moved into the forest and pulled their wands.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to be posting next week, my wonderful husband is taking us away for a few days to celebrate my birthday while the grandparents watch our kiddos. But, I'll be back with chapters 11 and 12 on Friday, October 4th so it's not a full two weeks without these crazies.

**Marlene:**

Diagon was a welcome change from Knockturn. Marlene still didn't feel like she could let her guard down, but she at least felt less like monsters were going to descend from the sky or come up from the earth and try to tear them apart.

The sun was setting as Marlene hurried them down the streets of the small town.

"Mundungus is supposed to live down here," she looked again at the name her dad had written down. They had tried to find Alastor when they first arrived but had been told he'd returned to Godric's Hollow.

Marlene didn't miss the irony.

"If he's not here let's see if the inn has any space." Lily walked closely next to her.

Marlene shook her head, "If he isn't home we're going to walk back into the forest and camp. We're too close to Privet's border for my liking. I'm not going to let more people see us than I have to."

Lily sighed but didn't respond.

Marlene allowed the silence to fill the air again as they moved further down the dark street, finally stopping in front of the specified door before knocking.

A man just barely taller than herself opened it.

"Mundungus Fletcher?"

"Who are you?" His voice was raspy and put Marlene on edge.

"Angus McKinnon's daughter," she stood a little straighter and stepped further in front of Lily.

Mundungus' face went fearful. "What, what does Angus want?"

Marlene suddenly felt the need to change plans. The last thing she wanted was to be in the same house as this man.

"Just information," Marlene kept her face stern. "How would you describe the current social climate here in Diagon?"

Mundungus fidgeted with the door latch, "It's good for business. King Cornelius is so caught up in keeping the throne that the little things are sliding without notice. As long as you can fend for yourself, things are good."

"Thank you, that's all I needed." Marlene stepped back but Mundungus spoke before she could step away completely.

"Why does Angus want to know?"

"Privet is kicking out magic users, we're weighing our options." Marlene then turned sharply and pulled Lily with her. She didn't want to tell him anything else, and if it wouldn't have been obvious she would have cast Lily invisible.

"So, the tent again?" Lily sighed as Marlene led them back up the street.

"Yes, we'll try the next town on Dad's list and then go on to the capital."

"Maybe," Lily hesitated, "maybe we go on to Godric's Hollow."

Marlene nearly fell over her feet. "Let's get the tent and wards set up and then I need you to explain yourself."

Marlene was rather proud of how level she managed to keep her voice.

Lily was quiet as they moved into the woods. Marlene's brain, on the other hand, was anything but quiet.

This whole thing had been life-threatening, had put her family in danger. And now Lily suddenly had a striking change of heart…?

They worked quickly to set up camp and Marlene put up the wards, taking extra precaution. Mundungus had made her nervous and while she was almost positive they hadn't been followed, she really didn't want to find out she was wrong.

"Alright," Marlene sighed as she started to put together a late dinner. "Why are you suddenly willing to go to Godric's Hollow?"

"I'm not saying I'm all for it, but that Fletcher guy crept me out and I don't know if trying to find a place in Diagon is a good idea for us now. I guess I just panicked and said Godric's Hollow. What I should have said was not Diagon."

Marlene took a deep breath. She felt better knowing Lily wasn't completely out of her mind.

"I'm sorry," she sighed and took Lily's hand, "I assumed the worst of your comment. I agree with you that this is probably not the best place. I worry though because we only have a couple of names of people outside of Diagon."

"That first name, the one your dad promised would be the best, Alastor Moody," Lily leaned forward in her chair. "They said he went to Godric's Hollow. Maybe we could catch up?"

"We have no idea where in Godric's Hollow he went to, and they didn't say when he left." Marlene frowned as she looked at the name on the paper. "For all we know he's been there for years."

Marlene pulled out the map and looked at the towns listed for each person her dad had written down.

"What about this one?" Lily pointed to the very last name on the list. "The Longbottom's, they live near the border of Ottery and Godric's Hollow. James said that Ottery would be safer than Diagon and these are people your dad trusts."

Marlene managed to hold back her groan. They'd have to travel across all of Diagon and the vast majority of Ottery.

"We'll have to move fast, Lils. Your sister is going to put a price on your head and it won't take long before they reach out to the other monarchs for help."

"She's too proud to admit I've run away." Lily shook her head.

Marlene responded with a humorless laugh. "Lily, love, they'll say I've kidnapped you."

Lily's eyes went wide, "She wouldn't dare!"

"I'd bet all the gold my family has that will be the story. I've kidnapped you for some reason and their asking all the countries for help in returning you, preferably with my head in a bag."

Lily looked like she might explode with anger.

"We'll be careful," Marlene put a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder, "and we'll find the Longbottom's. Then we'll send word to my parents and see what they think we should do next."

Lily took a deep breath, breathing out slowly. "I'm sorry, this is my fault. I should have just done what Petunia wanted. I never thought it could escalate like this."

"It'll work out Lils," Marlene assured her. But she wondered if she wasn't saying it more to reassure herself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Lily:**

Lily brooded well into the night about how much she'd potentially underestimated her sister and brother-in-law. She still yearned for the days before her sister had completely turned her back on her. It was ironic, the daughter who had everything, the right to the throne, the opportunity to spend her life in the same place she grew up, would be unhappy because the younger sister who had none of those privileges happened to have magic.

But Lily never thought it would come to this.

Maybe Marlene was overreacting?

The clenching in her gut told Lily that was most likely not the case. Petunia abhorred the McKinnon's, she'd have no problem making Marlene out to be the bad guy. The guilt hit Lily hard and fast. Were the rest of the McKinnon's alright? Had they already gone underground? Or had Petunia managed to get them before they could hide? Were they currently locked in the dungeons?

And on and on her mind spun well into the night before a familiar and warm voice sounded just outside the wards.

"Hello, the camp!"

Marlene bolted from her cot to the tent flap, wand held in front of her. Her other hand was held out to keep Lily back.

"Move on," Marlene called out into the night.

"Marlene," another familiar voice called out and Lily smiled. She knew who those voices belonged to.

"It's James and Sirius," she tried to push past Marlene, but Marlene held her back.

"Move on," Marlene called again, but Lily noticed a shift in her voice.

"On my oath," Sirius' voice called out, "Marlene, please."

Lily watched as Marlene's hardened face softened for just a moment before it hardened again.

"On your oath, Sirius," she called out before waving her wand and lighting the night around them.

Sure enough, James and Sirius came walking up to the tent flap, and Lily immediately felt comfort in the presence of friends. At this point, she wondered if she would ever have more than just these three as friends. Maybe if she learned how to enchant her hair a different color and changed her name she might be able to have more, but Lily counted herself lucky to at least have Marlene, James, and Sirius.

Lily opened the tent flap the rest of the way and ushered James in, but Sirius stood without.

"Let me show you another ward," Sirius looked at Marlene.

Lily watched her oldest friend, staring daggers at Sirius, and finally decided to speak for her.

"That's a wonderful idea, Sirius. Go on Marlene, I'll keep James company." Then she pushed Marlene out into the night and shut the tent flap.

Lily turned and smiled at James, who was smiling at her like she was his sunrise.

It was a little unnerving, and weirdly flattering.

"Hi," she smiled up at him as her fingers fidgeted with the bandage on her arm.

"Hi," he continued to smile back at her. "How's your arm?"

"Oh," Lily immediately pulled her hand away from her bandage, "fine, Mar thinks I'll be able to have the bandages off in the next day or two."

"Why don't we sit?" James pulled a chair out for Lily and sat where Marlene had been sitting earlier that evening.

Lily sat and noticed they'd left the map spread out along with Marlene's list. She tried to discreetly pull the list away from where James sat.

"You don't have to tidy up for me," he smiled at her.

Lily gave a nervous laugh and slid the paper into her pocket.

"So how was Privet?" Lily asked trying to change the subject.

James continued to smile at her like she was the brightest rose in the garden.

"It was alright," he shrugged, "the people were quite lovely, but given the new laws, I'll stay in Godric's Hollow."

Lily sighed. The people deserved better than that, but she was powerless to do anything for them.

"Were you and Marlene discussing your next destination?" James peered over the map.

Lily nodded, "We were thinking of the border of Ottery and Godric's Hollow."

James' smile managed to widen, "We can travel together then. My brother and I are heading home."

"Are you sure?" Lily frowned.

She knew Marlene wanted them to be moving fast, and invisible when possible. How was she going to explain that to James?

James however, continued to smile at her. "I'd like nothing more than to travel with you."

Lily bit her lip. "We, we're hoping to get there as quick as we can. There are friends in Privet that we need to send for once we get settled."

There, that wasn't a total lie.

"Sirius and I can move very quickly. One journey a while back we made it across Knockturn from Godric's Hollow in four days."

Lily looked down at the map and then back up at James with raised eyebrows. "That's normally a seven-day journey."

James' smile slowly morphed into a smirk.

"I'd have to talk to Marlene…" Lily bit her lip.

What if she got James killed too? She knew Marlene was risking her life, but Marlene was doing it knowingly. James and Sirius had no idea what could come against them. They had no idea there could be two monarchs paying for her return, at whatever the cost.

"Sirius and I can talk to her," James offered. "I'm sure she'll see the benefit of traveling in numbers. Besides," his smile softened, "I've always wanted to learn archery, and your skills were quite impressive that first night I met you."

Lily couldn't control the blush rising in her cheeks for all the gold in Privet's treasury.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! Next two chapters hit on October 12th.

**Sirius:**

Lily shoved Marlene out into the night with him and Sirius knew if looks could kill Marlene would be murdering him.

"We never saw each other? We'd be better keeping our siblings apart? What the hell, Sirius?"

"Things changed," Sirius tried to keep his voice calm, knowing he was on ice thinner than Marlene's pursed lips.

"What would you do if this was James?" She shot back. "Would you not be intensely suspicious of me if you were in my place?"

"Yes," Sirius ground out and silently cursed James and his stupid plans.

"So why did you turn around and track us?!" Marlene's volume went up several notches before she took a breath and spoke quietly again. "Sirius, we're playing a dangerous game already, why are you trying to raise the stakes?"

Sirius sighed, "We both know that our charges are more than just travelers. I need to get James back to Godric's Hollow as soon as I can and I'm asking for your help."

"You don't need my help," Marlene shook her head.

"Neither of us needs help," Sirius rolled his eyes, "but we both benefit from helping each other. We both get our charges to safety quicker and we both understand what the other is doing. You know how to fight to protect a person and so do I. This isn't just taking on to random travelers, this is taking on equals."

Sirius watched as Marlene stared off into space. He pushed the thought of how she seemed to glow in the moonlight to the side. Right now, he had a job, even if a part of him wondered what could happen under different circumstances.

Finally, she pressed her palm to her forehead and spoke. "I can't tell you everything, but James won't be safe traveling with us. It won't be long before certain people are searching for Lily and I. Your oath is better kept if we stick with our original deal."

_Damnit_.

Sirius should have been prepared for that argument. He knew who Lily was, but Marlene was still in the dark about James, and James wanted to keep it that way.

So he improvised. "You're not the only ones with people after you."

It wasn't a total lie, Sirius justified in his head. If some unsavory people figured out James was the King of Godric's Hollow it was likely they'd come after James.

"Marlene, we'll be better protected from everyone coming after us if we stick together."

She was quiet for what felt like an eternity as she stared into the surrounding night. Finally, she looked up at him, her blue eyes catching the reflection of the Moon, "You nearly ran all day to catch up, didn't you?"

Sirius nodded as he looked down into her eyes. "It wasn't a hard decision. You're the only other guardian I've met on this journey, and I needed someone I could trust."

"So you'll want me to promise on my oath?"

"No," Sirius stepped just a fraction closer to her, "I trust you. Your word is all I need."

"Just because I'm a guardian, you trust me?" Her voice was quieter, and some of the edge had gone out.

Sirius shook his head, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. "No, I trust you because I've seen how you protect Lily."

Marlene's eyes were locked on his and Sirius held her gaze, losing himself in how her eyes reminded him of the glaciers he'd seen on an ocean voyage he took with James as diplomats to a northern county.

"So we'll help each other protect our charges?"

Sirius nodded, "And each other."

"I'll have to talk to Lily about it," Marlene whispered, seemingly much closer to him than when this conversation had started.

He nodded, trying desperately to keep a hold on himself. This wasn't the time or the place to think about how close she was, how her eyes shone up at him.

"Did," her voice was barely a whisper, "did you really have another ward to show me?"

Sirius took a deep breath and stepped back, trying to make it look like he needed space for the wand work. He really just needed space to keep his wits about him. This, these thoughts, it wasn't an option, he couldn't do this. He had to stop them. So he created some physical distance between them.

"It's just a small one," he looked out into the dark, "it basically encourages people to ignore you." Sirius waved his wand precisely and spoke clearly as he set the ward.

"Encourages people to ignore you, huh?"

Sirius nodded, "Helps with the highwaymen."

Marlene looked up into the night sky for a long moment before turning back to him. The hardness in her expression was gone, replaced by a softness that made Sirius have to stop himself from reaching out to touch her.

"Thank you," she gave him a sad smile.

"Thank you," Sirius heaved a sigh before looking back at the tent. "We should go inside and plan out what's next. We've got a long way to go."

Marlene nodded and took half a step towards him before pausing. Instead, she turned and moved toward the tent.

Sirius followed behind her, wondering what she'd do to him when she found out that James was King James and Sirius knew that Lily was Princess Lily. That thought led him to wonder if he might be able to outrun her.

Playing Marlene like this was dangerous, but Sirius reasoned he was known for playing with fire, this, however, might just be the first time he would get burned.


	12. Chapter 12

**James:**

"Alright," Marlene walked into the tent with Sirius behind her.

James turned, the small blonde woman looked so unassuming until she did just about anything other than stand there, and then she was a rod of iron ready to bash your head in.

Marlene wasn't someone James knew how to work with.

"It appears we're all heading in the same direction, and we'd all like to move quickly." Marlene continued.

"Right," James nodded. "Lily says you'll be right on the border of Ottery and Godric's Hollow."

James held Marlene's stare, he was used to having these unspoken battles with Sirius, but it felt less like a game when he held Marlene's stare. He wasn't sure what she was searching for as she stared him down but he did sense it would be best not to laugh.

"I figured it would help us know when it would be time to part ways, Mar," Lily added, pulling Marlene's gaze away from James.

Marlene sighed before conjuring a chair and falling into it.

"Ok, we're traveling together towards Godric's Hollow. We've all figured out that there's more going on than any of us are willing to share. Sirius and I have established that we'll both likely have people coming for our duos, so I think it best that we don't divulge any details. We know what we need to in order to help each other, but not enough that we'd be of any use to someone looking for the other."

James managed a glance at Sirius, feeling rather impressed with how his brother had managed to get Marlene on board. It was the one thing James hadn't figured out. Sirius had sharply told James he'd handle it, and while James had been worried when Sirius rejected all his ideas, he obviously shouldn't have been.

"Agreed," Sirius nodded and avoided looking back at James. "We should consolidate all our supplies as well."

"We should do that now," Lily nodded and James marveled at the way her emerald eyes were lit up with determination. "I think it'll be less obvious we haven't been together this whole time if we aren't setting up a second tent and moving supplies about if we do it while everyone else is sleeping."

"That's a great idea," James stood and smiled at Lily. "Let's get the tent up and move all our things over. Our tent is a bit broken, doesn't keep things in place when it's packed up, so if you're alright with us all using yours?"

"Of course," Lily smiled up at him and James felt hope blossom anew in his chest.

James was pulled back from her gaze by the sound of Sirius rummaging their tent out of his pack before motioning for James to follow him outside.

"That went better than I thought it would," James grinned as they walked into their tent.

"Have you thought about how you're going to tell Lily you're the King she's supposed to be marrying?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at him. "Because I guarantee it's going to stop going so well once we get to that point."

James felt a tinge of guilt hit him and tried to smile it away.

"I'm working on it," he conjured a box and started filling it.

Sirius sighed heavily, "Let me know when you figure it out."

"You alright?" James paused.

"Yeah," Sirius waved his wand at their cots and watched them fold away and float into his arms. "Just trying to keep you from getting killed by your future queen."

James tried to ignore the way his stomach dropped at Sirius' words.

"I'm going to ask her to teach me archery."

"Why?"

"I'm hoping that she'll grow to like me if I spend more time with her." James shrugged.

Sirius paused, "Not a bad idea."

James smirked, "All my ideas are kingly, Sirius, you should know this by now."

He ducked just in time to not be hit by the dishtowel Sirius threw at his head and laughed heartily.

They packed the last of everything up quickly and brought it into Lily's tent before closing down their tent and packing it back away.

"Let's get our cots set up and get some sleep," Lily yawned. "We've got a long way to go."

James nodded and went to say more when the wards went off.

Sirius stood and put a finger to his lips. He stepped toward the door of the tent, Marlene right behind him. James thought to follow before deciding against it and moving to stand next to Lily.

"See anything?" A voice called out.

"Not yet, but Fletcher said he saw the two women matching the description leave this way." A second voice responded.

James watched Marlene bristle like a cat, but he felt Lily go rigid. Tentatively, he put an arm around her shoulders, but she remained still as a statue.

"Let's keep going," the first voice finally responded. "They probably decided to travel all night. We'll have to catch up."

The four of them held their breath as they waited for the footsteps of the men to fade into silence.

"I like your ignoring ward," Marlene's voice shook as she spoke and looked up at Sirius.

Sirius put a hand on her shoulder as he let out a long breath. "Know any spells to disguise yourselves?"

Marlene shook her head, "I can make us invisible, but I don't know the spells that would change our appearance."

"We'll just have to keep our hoods up, Mar." Lily sighed and James reluctantly let her step out from under his arm.

"Who is Fletcher?" He asked, remembering the conversation between the two men.

Marlene pressed her palm into her forehead. "My da...we have a list of magic users that could help us. Mundungus Fletcher may have been trustworthy at one point, but when he opened the door I didn't feel right and got us out of there. Apparently I missed that he followed us part of the way out of town."

Marlene swore and wrapped her hands around the back of her neck as she continued to curse.

James made a mental note to ask Remus if they could arrest the man if he ever stepped foot in Godric's Hollow.

"It's alright now," Lily pulled Marlene into a hug, "They've moved on and we've got James and Sirius. We're going to be alright, we're all going to help each other get home."

James felt her words keenly. Lily trusted him, trusted him to help keep her and Marlene safe. And he realized Sirius was right. He needed to figure out how to tell her who he was and he needed to do it soon. Because Lily might kill him if he didn't.

Then Lily smiled at him and James got lost in her green eyes. He'd tell her, but first, he was going to show her he could be everything she needed, that she could be happy with him, that he could be a King worth marrying.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you on October 18th. :)

**Marlene:**

Marlene didn't sleep well. She kept dreaming that the men came back, no one felt the wards, and Lily died on her watch.

She woke in a panic after the third time the dream hit, grateful for the first rays of sunrise pushing through the tent window. Trying to fall back asleep a fourth time felt overwhelmingly impossible.

"Nightmares?" Sirius' voice sounded quietly from the table.

Marlene sighed and pushed her hair out of her face before reaching back to plait it, "Yeah."

"The one where you die or they die?"

Marlene paused and looked over at him, reminding herself not to be surprised that he'd know her most common nightmares. He was a guardian too after all.

"She died," Marlene choked on the words, feeling their impact as if the dream had been real. Her hands fell from her hair and she gripped the cot, trying to breathe deeply and regain control.

"Hey," Sirius moved swiftly to her side. "She's alright, and we're going to make sure it stays that way."

"As I have breath," Marlene quoted from the oath they'd both taken, trying to find strength in the words.

"You're not alone in this, Marlene," he put an arm around her shoulders. "I promise, you're not alone."

Marlene leaned into him, allowing herself a moment of weakness. If things were different, if they weren't going to part ways at the end of this, if Marlene wasn't bound to Lily for her whole life, then maybe she'd do this differently. Maybe she'd lean into him all the time. Maybe she'd ask him about where he grew up. Maybe she'd let her guard down entirely and be silly and young and open to possibilities.

But things weren't different.

Marlene had known, her dad explained it very specifically, how taking on the oath of a guardian would limit her future. She'd be required to stay with Lily her entire life. She'd be responsible for protecting Lily to her dying breath, and she would promise that there would be no instance where she would be the reason Lily perished. If she could die in Lily's place, she would.

At sixteen, all that was worth giving up to keep her best friend safe and alive.

And it still was.

Marlene hadn't been asked after once she took the oath. None of the men at court paid her mind, except to make it obvious they meant Lily no harm. Marlene was the only guardian at court as well and she became accustomed to being alone. She had no reason to think of what she'd given up for Lily because nothing presented itself to make her consider alternatives.

Until Sirius.

He understood her. He was probably her own age. He was a guardian. He knew exactly what she was feeling when it came to their responsibilities. And that had melted some of the ice Marlene had frozen her heart in.

But it still couldn't happen. They were going different ways. Sirius was bound to James and she was bound to Lily and that was that. She was only setting herself up to be hurt in the long run if she didn't get a hold on her heart.

And yet, she continued to lean into him.

It was only to calm the nightmare. It was only to feel understood, just for a moment's reprieve before she accepted reality.

She didn't let her mind worry about how comfortable it felt to rest her head against his body, to have his arm protectively wrapped around her shoulders, to feel his chest rise and fall with his breath.

Marlene allowed herself that moment before lifting her head from his shoulder and regaining some of her grit and resolve.

"Thank you," she smiled up at him.

His gray eyes locked on hers and Marlene felt something shift between them. Slowly, Sirius pulled his arm away, and the last brushes of his fingertips against her body left shivers running down her spine.

"Thank you," he echoed her words quietly, his eyes locked on hers.

It left Marlene feeling out of breath.

The air around her suddenly felt very heavy and she couldn't bring herself to drop Sirius' gaze. It was the way she felt the night before when Sirius had convinced her to let them all travel together.

It was intoxicating and addictive and terrifying and she never wanted it to end.

"Good morning," James yawned as he groped for his glasses and Marlene nearly jumped out of her skin. But it broke whatever trance had fallen over her, and both she and Sirius pulled back and looked at James.

"Oh," James voice went quiet as he pushed his glasses on his face, "I didn't realize the lovely Lily hasn't woken up yet." He smiled fondly at Lily and Marlene immediately felt the urge to stand and block his view.

"I'll wake her," Marlene moved to put herself between Lily and James. She didn't know who James was, but she was positive that he was taken with her friend, and that only promised to further complicate their already complicated arrangement.

"Lils," Marlene knelt next to her best friend, "we need to get a move on."

Lily stirred and stretched and for a moment Marlene smiled at how the action reminded her so much of their lives before all this, back when Lily moved into the McKinnon home and they became even more intertwined than they already had been.

"Alright," Lily yawned and sat up.

"I'd like to go try and snoop out some information from that town," Sirius put his hand on Marlene's shoulder. "Will you be alright?"

Marlene turned and found his gaze, his stormy gray eyes communicating the weight of his words.

"I will keep us safe," She promised. "How long before you want us to leave?"

"We won't leave without you," Lily rubbed her eyes as she spoke.

"Right," James' voice sounded behind them.

But Marlene ignored them both. She didn't think either would understand what was really happening, that Sirius was putting James in her hands until he returned and in the case that he didn't return at all she would protect James until a new guardian could be found for him. And as terrifying as the prospect was, Marlene wanted Sirius to know he could trust her because she needed to know he'd do the same. By agreeing to protect James in his absence, Sirius would owe her the same in return.

If she didn't survive their journey, Sirius would keep Lily safe and away from Privet.

"Give me one hour, and then head for Godric's Hollow." Sirius held her gaze a moment longer before removing his hand and turning to James.

"Do what she says, James."

"Yes, Dad," James put on an irritatingly high pitched voice and stuck his tongue out at Sirius.

Marlene probably would have laughed under different circumstances, but instead, she watched Sirius as he left the tent, and felt the weight of her promise falling squarely upon her shoulders.


	14. Chapter 14

**Lily:**

Lily shared an eye roll with James as Sirius walked out of the tent.

As if they'd leave Sirius behind, really!

"How did you sleep?" James moved toward her and held out a hand to help her stand.

Lily ignored the part of her that readily reached for him. "Well, thank you. Sleep alright in your new surroundings?"

"Better than I have this entire journey," James led her to the table before pulling out a chair for her. Lily smiled at the familiarity of it all. It was almost as though she'd never left her castle home.

"I'm not nearly as good in a kitchen as Sirius but I'm happy to make us some breakfast while we wait for him to get back from snooping around."

Lily laughed, "Best let me help."

"I'm going to reinforce the wards," Marlene's voice seemed weary, heavy even.

"Everything alright, Mar?" Lily asked as Marlene walked to the door.

"Everything is going to be fine," Marlene nodded as she pulled out her wand, "Get breakfast going, we'll be leaving in just under an hour."

Lily frowned as Marlene slipped out of the tent.

"Anything, in particular, you'd like?" James' voice pulled Lily back from staring at the opening to the tent.

"Here," she started pulling things down and setting to work.

"Hey now, I said I would make breakfast," James laughed.

"You also admitted to being a bad cook," she gave him a pointed look. "I have no intention of letting you get us all sick or making something inedible."

"How do I know you're a better cook?" James smirked at her, leaning easily against the table behind him.

"Mar's mum made sure I could cook," Lily spoke before thinking.

But then her words registered and she panicked.

"Er, we're half-sisters," she added quickly.

James tilted his head, "I see, so you're close with Marlene's mum?"

Lily tried to make a firm mental note that this was her story now as she nodded to James.

"She's a wonderful woman, I love her very much. She was one of the people I relied on when my mother died." That was true, Lily forced herself to smile. She felt awful lying to James. He seemed so genuine with her that lying to him felt immensely wrong.

James' eyes immediately softened, "I'm sorry. My mother passed away not long ago, I would walk across Knockturn every day for the rest of my life if it meant I could have her back."

Lily's compassion won out and she reached out to take James' hand. He started at her touch but then his strong hand encircled her own, wrapping it in his and bringing it to his lips to kiss her fingers.

"We all find people to help fill the holes our loved ones leave behind."

He held her gaze and her hand next to his lips and Lily's mind was fighting the spinning feeling that was trying to knock her off her feet. A small part of her wanted to pull closer, to ask more about his mum and to talk about her own.

But the other part of Lily pointed out what a stupid idea that was. She'd already revealed enough that Mar was going to be cross with her. And Lily didn't want to put James and Sirius in more danger than they already were. She'd never forgive herself if any of them were hurt or killed because of her.

And so Lily forced herself to look down and pulled her hand away from his gentle grasp.

"I'll just warm the bread," she grabbed the bread they'd bought the day before and tried to focus her gaze anywhere but on him.

James was quiet for some time as she busied herself with breakfast, long enough that Lily jumped when he spoke again.

"When Sirius and I were boys," his voice was low, and Lily resisted the urge to look at him, "we used to run around near the forest along the Knockturn border."

He chuckled, and Lily stopped herself from catching his smile by hiding behind her hair

"One day we found a pool of water and decided we were going to jump in it, but first we wanted to know how deep it was." His story continued. "Naturally, we thought the best thing to do would be to throw something in and gauge the depth by how fast it descended. I threw in a small pebble, but it was roughly the same color as the water and we couldn't see it after it had fallen just a few inches."

Lily fought the urge to look at him and ask what happened next. James didn't seem to notice as he continued without the prompt.

"So we found a slightly larger stone, but still lost sight of it. Again, and again, we increased the size of the stone and at some point, I forgot what our original purpose had been. I became entirely focused on dropping bigger and bigger stones into the pool and forgot all about swimming."

Lily chuckled before she could stop herself, though she did manage to keep from looking at him. She could hear his smug smile in his voice as he continued.

"Sirius decided at that point to remind me of our original intent by yelling at me to help him roll what he called 'an enormous deadweight' into the pool."

Lily bit her lip, sure she knew what was coming next.

"I came running, excited to see how big the stone was, only to find that there was none. But before I could ask, Sirius shoved me right into the pool, completely clothed!"

Lily couldn't help herself as she laughed and she laughed harder when she looked up to see James laughing with her.

"Did you at least have fun swimming?" Lily grinned up at him.

"Yes, but the trip home was brutal with my clothes sopping wet. I made a point of learning drying spells as soon as I could after that experience, the chaffing," he grimaced.

"I'll take your word for it," Lily gave him a sympathetic smile.

They grinned at each other a moment longer before Marlene returned, and Lily felt the weight of their situation return with her. It was nice to laugh with James, but it didn't take away the reality that she was a runaway princess, if anything, it made that reality scarier.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you on October 26th! :)

**Sirius:**

Information is thankfully easy to come by when you're invisible.

Sirius stepped in behind a patron as they walked into the little tavern inn of the small town. What he needed was posted behind the bar counter. A poster with Lily's face was nailed to the wall, and upon closer inspection, he found exactly what he feared.

**KIDNAPPED - The Crown of Privet begs your assistance in the safe return of Queen Petunia's beloved little sister, Princess Lily. A generous reward will be given to whoever can guarantee the safe return of the princess.**

Below that was a description of Lily and then another description matching Marlene that was labeled "Kidnapper." Sirius resisted the urge to obliterate the poster. By labeling her a _Kidnapper _Privet's monarchy had signed Marlene's death sentence. Lily would not be returned unless the would-be rescuers managed to kill Marlene first.

Merlin, he hated it when James was right!

Quietly, he cast the spell that would render the poster uninteresting, then slipped behind the counter and took it down. That would at least keep anyone passing through here from trying to find them until they had a decent head start.

Sirius listened in on several of the conversations in the tavern, but nothing he heard was worth his time. So with fifteen minutes of his hour left, Sirius followed one of the leaving patrons out and onto the road.

He tried to refocus by planning out exactly what he'd tell Marlene when he got back. He couldn't very well tell her he'd seen the poster, and he'd probably need to try and keep her from finding it in other towns they might stop in as well. Sirius was certain that Marlene would have suspected the way Privet's monarchy would handle the situation, but if she thought for a second he and James knew Lily was the princess meant to marry the King of Godric's Hollow, well he'd rather not think about that, let alone if she found out who James was.

Sirius pulled himself up short. These instances weren't _'if'_ scenarios, they were _'when'_ scenarios.

It was all so frustrating! James had no plan and Sirius, try as he might, couldn't think of any way to go about telling Marlene without it ending in a fiasco where everyone was angry with him! He'd left his childhood home to avoid these no-win situations!

Feeling trapped in his circumstances, Sirius resorted to doing stupid things to try and earn Marlene's trust, like put James under her protection for a short time so that he would owe her the same. He spent his nights racking his brain for every single technicality he could remember that came with being a guardian and trying to use it to show her he could be trusted. He hoped that these built-up deeds would help convince her he hadn't been holding back information to deliberately manipulate her. He wanted to show her that despite what it looked like, he wasn't the villain in all this.

Sirius was painfully aware he was grasping at straws, but straws were all he had.

As he approached the outskirts of the town Sirius was pulled from his frustrations by an argument ahead of him that was quickly turning heated.

"You're swindling me!"

"Mundungus Fletcher, you did the same to me last month. That's my price, you can take it or leave it." The other man looked rather smug.

Sirius moved quietly as he approached Mundungus Fletcher and the man apparently swindling him.

"You'll regret this, Maybry..."

Sirius watched money and a small package exchange between the two and then Fletcher stormed back the way Sirius had come.

Sirius was never one to let perfect opportunities pass him by.

He followed Fletcher back down a couple of side streets before the man stepped into what Sirius assumed to be his home.

Deciding he could do with an outlet for some of his anger, and to pay the idiot in kind for passing along information about Marlene and Lily, Sirius walked up and knocked on the door.

The door opened a fraction and Fletcher looked furtively around. "Who's there?"

"I come with a gift," Sirius lifted his wand beneath his cloak.

"Who's there?!" Fletcher put his wand out in front of him and whipped his head back and forth so much Sirius was surprised it didn't fly off.

Sirius didn't bother to introduce himself, and he didn't put on a show, despite his desire to make this cretin know exactly how little he appreciated his passing off information about Marlene and Lily. Sirius simply blew him back into his house. The ruckus didn't seem to draw much attention as Sirius took a moment to look around for any curious neighbors. Satisfied that no one cared enough about the slimeball to see what happened, Sirius ducked into Fletcher's house. This was obviously an area used to keeping to themselves.

Sirius wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that the scumbag was still breathing - just out cold. He pushed those feelings away and looked around at the filth that covered the small room, scanning the bits of rubbish and papers and nick-nacks. He was hoping to find something useful, information on whether the two men who'd been searching for Marlene and Lily the night before were just trying to collect on the reward, or if they'd been hired by Queen Petunia. He knew there would definitely be amateurs and idiots going for the two women, and he felt confident they would be easily dismissed. But if professionals were coming, well that was something entirely different.

The answers weren't found in Mundungus Fletcher's filthy den, and Sirius needed to catch up to James, Marlene, and Lily. So after ensuring that no one was coming to investigate his aggressive indulgence, Sirius slipped back out into the street and picked up the pace, his hour had already come and gone.


	16. Chapter 16

**James**:

"I'll say it again, Marlene, I'm not leaving until Sirius gets back," James was not having this.

Marlene pressed her palm against her forehead.

"Sirius told you to do what I said, James. He'll catch up, I'm sure of it, but we're losing daylight and more importantly, were going to attract attention."

James wanted to roar at this small woman, "Then go! I'll wait here for Sirius and then he and I will catch up with you!"

"I can't leave you here!" She screeched at him.

James smirked and took a seat at the little table. "Then I suppose that means I win. We'll wait for Sirius."

He turned his smirk towards Lily, his fatal mistake it turned out as Marlene had pulled her wand on him.

James quite suddenly found himself bound with gold cords.

"Mar!" Lily yelled.

"What the hell?!"

"Sirius told me to have us head out one hour after he left and while you might not be keen on listening to him, you're going to it one way or another."

James had been raised with all the manners of a prince and future king, but for the first time in his life, he wanted to throw all his upbringing out the window and take it to blows with Marlene.

"Marlene Anne McKinnon, you let him go!" Lily cried and rushed to pull on the ropes holding James prisoner.

"Pack up Lily," Marlene pulled on her pack and picked up both Sirius' and James' packs as well. "We need to get a move on."

James wanted to scream and he was happy to see that Lily looked just as unhappy.

"We're not leaving without Sirius!"

"Lily," Marlene looked wearily at her sister, "please don't make this harder."

"You can't just go tying people up to make them do what you want!" Lily put her wand to the gold ropes and tried to vanish them.

The ropes remained in place but James felt slightly better.

"We should have left over fifteen minutes ago!" Marlene shot back. "Are you willing to risk…" she took a deep breath and shot a frustrated glance at James. "Are you willing to risk being found? What that would mean for you? What it would mean for me?"

The little bit of comfort James felt in Lily trying to free him vanished when he saw the fear in Lily's eyes.

James had to remind himself that she had no idea he was the King she was running from. He imagined that Queen Petunia probably made him out to be a horrible monster. He realized that if she knew more about him as the King, then maybe she'd be willing to go to his home of her own accord. He set that thought aside for later and tried to do anything to pull the fear out of Lily's expression.

"Lily," he said quietly, reverenced even, "I'm alright. These cords aren't hurting me, I'll be alright."

He watched several shades of color mix into the green of her eyes as her face morphed from fearful to determined.

"Marlene," she looked back at her sister, "let him go."

Marlene went to answer when the wards went off.

"What in the hell are you all still doing here?!" Sirius pushed through the tent flap with anger written all over his face, but he stopped in his tracks at the sight before him.

And then the traitor laughed.

James had never been so affronted!

"Merlin! James! What did you do?" Sirius leaned against the canvas of the tent to keep himself upright.

"I told her I wasn't leaving without you." James would have tackled his brother to the ground if he had the ability to do so.

"I did warn you," Sirius shook his head. "I warned you to do as Marlene told you."

James glared at him. But his thoughts were cut short as the gold cords that had bound him vanished.

"Don't free him on my account," Sirius grinned at Marlene.

James huffed.

"I'm sorry," Lily's quiet voice cut off any quip he might have thrown back at Sirius.

James realized Lily was still kneeling next to him. He looked down at her and his heart nearly broke.

"Hey, this isn't your fault." He wrapped her hands in his, "it's mine. I'll be honest I goaded your sister there and I got what was coming."

Lily shook her head, "She shouldn't have attacked you."

James sighed, "You're too good for all this, Lily."

"Got any more objections to leaving now, James?" Sirius' voice pulled him back from Lily's beautiful eyes.

"No," James heaved a sigh and gave Lily's hands a squeeze before releasing them. "Let's get going. The sooner we get home the better."

James fell into step beside Lily after they had packed up the tent and started heading West. She still looked almost haunted as they hiked through the woods along the edge of the road. He couldn't stand it. He had to do something, anything to bring the light back to her eyes.

"When I was a boy, my father had this occasion to travel for business and I wanted to go with him. But my mother told me that I would have to stay with her."

Lily turned her head slightly towards him. James took that to be a good sign and continued.

"I think I was maybe six, and I thought to myself that Mother couldn't stop me if I just caught up with Father after he'd left. So we saw him off and then I snuck out of the house with my pack to go after Father."

Lily grinned, and James felt his heart soar.

"I didn't manage to catch up with him and ended up alone on the main road out of our city. My mother noticed my absence almost immediately and had all of our family friends helping in the search to locate me. When I finally got hungry I turned around and went back the way I'd come. My mother happened to be with the group near the city gate and saw me approaching. When Mother saw me she was so worried I'd run off again when I saw her, she pulled her wand and bound me in purple cords, much like your sister did."

Lily laughed, "How did you react to that?"

James smiled and winked at her, "A right side worse than I did today."

Lily's smile shone up at him and James felt some of the weight lift off his shoulders. This journey was hard enough on its own, he didn't want Lily's anxiety over what could ultimately be their happily ever after hanging on his conscience as well.

But that pesky guilt about lying to her still gnawed at his stomach.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating a bit later today, had something unexpected come up this morning, but it's only about five hours later than normal so I'm thinking I'm alright. ;) See you November 2nd.

**Marlene**:

They'd managed some form of a truce, Marlene and James, mostly because Sirius had been on her side when he initially made it back to their camp. James apologized for upsetting her, and Marlene apologized for binding him.

Marlene felt justified that she hadn't apologized for being in the wrong since he hadn't either. It didn't matter in the long run since they'd be parting ways, most likely before the month was out.

They'd been traveling hard the last seven days and were probably two more days from the Ottery border. They'd hopefully make it across Ottery quicker as Lily gained more strength. She'd been exhausted after the first day of traveling with Sirius and James, but Marlene hadn't been sure if it was the travel or the argument they'd had that morning. Marlene had fully apologized to Lily the next morning. She knew she'd put her best friend into an awful situation that highlighted all the less glamorous parts of Marlene being Lily's guardian.

Ruthless in protecting their charge was an unfortunate part of the job description.

"What do you think of here?" Sirius' voice pulled her back to the present.

Marlene looked up into the sky, mostly covered by trees, "I think we have another hour of light, why stop here?"

"Listen," Sirius tapped his ear and grinned.

It took her a moment, but then she heard it.

Rushing water.

"Let's try and get closer to that creek," she moved towards the sound. If they could fill up their water here they wouldn't need another town until they crossed into Ottery.

She looked behind her to call to Lily but sighed as she caught sight of her laughing at something James had said. Try though she might, the man was insistent on spending every waking moment he could with Lily. Marlene only hoped Lily was guarding her heart as fervently Marlene was guarding her person.

"James isn't so bad," Sirius chuckled.

Marlene grinned, "You mean when he isn't doing things that make me want to bind him like a prisoner?"

"Would you believe you're not the first woman to do that?" Sirius grinned.

Marlene rolled her eyes, "I can only imagine."

They found exactly what Marlene had been hoping for as they approached the creek, fast-moving water. Water that moves tends not to let anything dangerous grow in it. She pulled out her wand and conjured a cup before dipping it into the rushing water and speaking the spell that would tell them if it was safe to drink.

Marlene felt relief wash over her as the spell confirmed they could drink from the creek safely.

"I think right here is perfect," she grinned as James and Lily bothered to catch up.

They'd managed to move undetected this week and Marlene worried they were getting a false sense of security from it.

"We should definitely stop here." Lily sighed happily as Marlene handed her the cup full of cold water.

"Marlene and I were thinking the same thing," Sirius pulled his pack off and set it down a few yards from the river bank.

"Where's my cup?" James turned a frown on Sirius as Lily drank deeply.

"At the other end of your wand I'd imagine," Sirius smirked.

"I keep telling you, James," Lily chuckled before draining her cup, "my sister loves me more than your brother loves you."

James sighed loudly and looked up at the sky, "Cruel world, why am I so despised by those closest to me?"

Marlene rolled her eyes but Lily giggled.

"I know!" James snapped his fingers, "Let's set up camp and then have another archery lesson! That's sure to take my mind off my troubles!"

"Archery lessons seem to make everything better for you," Marlene pulled her pack off as she gave James a pointed stare.

"I'm just a big fan of learning and developing new skills." James bowed his head to her and Marlene rolled her eyes as she waved the tent into place with Sirius.

Their second night all together, James had asked Lily if he could make a copy of her bow, which of course, Lily agreed to. Then James happily announced that now Lily could teach him to be a master archer just like her, nevermind the bow was too small and he looked mildly ridiculous trying to shoot with it. But even Marlene had to admit he was getting better at it. At least his arrows were staying closer to camp and that meant he and Sirius didn't have to go searching the forest for lost arrows as much.

Having Sirius to talk to while James commandeered Lily's time was comforting but it usually led to bouts of anxiety while she was trying to fall asleep at night. Marlene was starting to consider Sirius a friend, she was starting to trust him, and that was likely going to end poorly for her. She was attracted to him. She should be avoiding him, not finding excuses to get to know him better or make him laugh.

But she did, today being no exception.

With the tent set and their meal consumed, James and Lily set up their archery lesson and she willingly joined Sirius at the side of the creek.

"This reminds me a bit of home," Sirius gave a contented sigh and reached out to dip his fingers in a shallow part of the creek.

Marlene immediately wanted to ask about where he grew up but thought better of it. They were working very hard to not share the things that could give away too much.

"It's peaceful," she closed her eyes long enough to take a deep breath before opening them and refocusing on Lily. "I like it."

"Do you think we can pick up the pace?" Sirius seemed to sense that they'd crossed close to the line and shifted gears.

Marlene nodded, "I think Lily is gaining stamina. We should be able to do the last of Diagon in two days, maybe less if Lily gets some adrenaline from the promise of crossing into Ottery."

"I'll need to find a messenger at some point once we're in Ottery." Sirius ran a tired hand over his face.

Marlene bit back the questions that jumped to get lips.

"I'm sure that won't be too hard. We'll have to stop somewhere and stock up again."

"Do you feel like you and Lily can travel visible on the roads now?"

Marlene and Lily had taken to casting themselves invisible to walk through towns, and sometimes while they traveled on the road as well.

"I don't know," Marlene played with the end of her plaited hair, "part of me wants to keep us invisible for the rest of our lives."

"That would make these conversations very difficult," Sirius smirked. "The only way I'd know where you were if you weren't talking would be to go around spraying water everywhere. Like this…"

She ducked just in time to miss the water Sirius splashed at her.

"You mean more like this," she laughed as she dug her hand into the creek and shoved as much of the cold water as her small hand could move up and toward him.

Sirius barely dodged being hit by her splash.

Sirius didn't even speak this time, he just splashed as much water as he could at her, and Marlene didn't move quite fast enough.

"You're so dead," she wiped the spray from her cheek as she looked down at the parts of her clothes that were now wet and freezing cold.

And she splashed him mercilessly.

"That's all you've got?" Sirius wiped the water from his eyes.

It only progressed from there. Soon both Sirius and Marlene were sopping wet and laughing like Marlene hadn't laughed in years. She felt free for a few moments, and it was exhilarating!

Somehow they had fallen against each other. Somehow his arm was wrapped around her. Somehow she'd forgotten everything she'd been telling herself all week about guarding her heart as she smiled up at him. His chest moved heavily like he was forcing his breath to stay even, and his eyes bore into hers. And for a moment she went insane and wondered if he would kiss her.

A breeze picked up at that moment, and the shiver that ran through her body pulled Marlene back to reality.

She forced herself to move, to put distance safely between them, to pull her wand and dry herself and her clothes, to try again and build a few walls around her heart.

When she finally managed to look back at him, Sirius had dried himself as well and was watching James and Lily just as they had been before.

"It's getting dark," he commented as though nothing had happened. "We should all get back inside the tent."

Marlene nodded and walked with him to collect James and Lily.

But try as she might, Marlene couldn't let go of the small piece of herself that was disappointed that the magic she'd felt moments ago was gone.


	18. Chapter 18

**Lily**:

Merlin, she was exhausted!

Lily thought her legs were going to fall off and her arms didn't feel much better. Teaching James archery was fun, but she wasn't used to holding her arms in drawn position for extended periods as she modeled to James what his stance and hold needed to look like. Add to it that all their lessons were after they'd walked fifteen to twenty miles and Lily found that she was falling asleep as soon as she hit her cot.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes as they walked back from having collected James' stray arrows with Marlene and Sirius.

Lily saw Marlene differently now. The whole "guardian" thing had been something that Angus felt necessary and after her father died Lily looked at Angus as a second father so she went along, not understanding what it actually was. Seeing Marlene carry out her duty by binding James in ropes, however, made it obvious to Lily that she didn't particularly care for it. If she'd really understood at sixteen what Marlene could be required to do to maintain her oath, Lily would have never agreed to have a guardian in the first place. But she was stuck now, and try as she might she couldn't remember any instance where she'd been taught about a charge being able to release their guardian from their oath. If anything happened to her, Marlene would suffer, and Lily didn't want that either.

She sighed as her mind wandered down that dead-end again. Then she nearly tripped as James bumped her shoulder with his.

"Sorry," he quickly reached out to steady her and Lily allowed herself to lean into him.

"It's alright," she smiled up at him.

"What was the forlorn sigh for?" James grinned and moved his hand casually from her arm and draped his arm across her shoulders.

Lily paused finding she rather enjoyed his arm over her shoulders. Then she remembered he'd asked her a question. She just had to broach the subject without giving too much away.

"Do you, I, well, have you ever been unhappy about the choices you made in your past? Like maybe you didn't understand everything fully and so now things are harder than they could be otherwise?"

James frowned, "Well, actually right now there's just one, but it's not quite the same as what you're saying."

"Just one?" Lily scoffed at him.

James chuckled as they followed Marlene into the tent and he held the flap open for Sirius. He then pressed a soft hand to the small of her back and led her to the table near the back of their tent.

Her back caught fire at his touch.

"Right now, there's just one," he helped her into her chair before sitting and smiling at her, "There used to be more."

Lily pushed aside the physical reaction he was pulling from her in exchange for resolving her confusion at his comment.

"So you used to have other regrets?"

"I did, but when I look back on them now," he pulled his glasses off and cleaned them with his shirt, "well they've led me to here, they've made me who I am, and I'm happy. How can I regret the things that have helped to make me happy?"

Lily noticed Marlene slowly moving closer. She was listening in on their conversation which made Lily both angry and guilty at the same time. Lily wanted her privacy back, but the last thing she wanted was for Marlene to feel she was ungrateful. Marlene had given up so much and was required to do so much to protect her. She felt quite the opposite of ungrateful actually; in fact, Lily was so grateful that all she felt on the matter was guilt.

Lily fixed her attention away from Marlene and back on James.

"Even when your actions hurt others?"

James sighed, "Those actions don't make me happy, but they've taught me to be kinder, to be more willing to help others, and that in turn has made me happy. I'm not proud of those times I chose to hurt others, but I am proud of how I've learned from those times and worked to be better. And being a better person makes me happy."

Lily sighed, envying his perspective. Right now it felt like all her actions of late were hurting those closest to her. Could she ever look back and say this had all made her better, stronger, happier?

"Lily," James voice pulled her from her thoughts and Lily looked up to see less of the confidence she'd become accustomed to seeing in James' expression. It surprised her and instinctively she reached under the table to grab his hand.

He clung to it for a moment before he spoke again.

"Lily, I, I," he hesitated, "I really appreciate you teaching me archery." He finally finished with a bit of frustration across his face and Lily continued to squeeze his hand.

"Of course, James," she tried to pull his smile back out with her own. "I'm happy to do it. That's what friends do, we make time for each other."

She watched perplexed as James' face seemed to look simultaneously elated and … well, she couldn't name the other emotion but it wasn't a good one.

He managed to let the smile win out and ran his fingers over the top of her hand. "I'm honored to call you my friend, Lily."

Lily felt her smile go shy as his hand caressed her own. She knew something was shifting between them, and she also knew she shouldn't allow it. They'd have to leave each other at the end of this, and she didn't even know his last name. But her heart still beat rapidly in her chest and her head still spun and her mind still wandered to the what if; what if she wasn't a runaway princess, what if he weren't a traveler with his own secrets, what if they could just be young and happy and let their hearts lead?

"We should turn in," Sirius' voice brought her back out of her thoughts and Lily reluctantly pulled her hand away from James'.

"Right," James sighed and stood.

Their preparations for bed were quick, and as Lily tucked herself into her cot, her eyes strayed to James and she wondered if she would ever be as happy or genuine as he was, or if she'd even be able to keep her heart from getting dangerously attached to a man she was only endangering with her presence.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you November 9th.

**Sirius:**

They were so close. Sirius hadn't traveled this road before but from the map, he was certain they were only a mile or two from Ottery.

Ottery felt as good as home at this point. He'd almost be willing to blow their whole cover for a chance to breathe easily in the safety of King Arthur's court. But while that was out of the question, at least in Ottery he could get a message out to Remus and Peter. They, in turn, would be able to get a message to King Arthur asking him not to help Queen Petunia. And maybe then they'd make it to Godric's Hollow alright. Once in Godric's Hollow, they'd be home free, assuming they could convince Marlene and Lily to cross the border with them.

Marlene tensed beside him as they walked.

"I heard something," she frowned, "let's move into the trees."

Sirius listened, trying to hear what she had, but no sound followed. It was probably better, in the long run, to cross the border in the trees, he reasoned in his mind. It avoided any chance at a run-in with border patrols - specifically one that might recognize Lily.

Sirius really didn't want to end up in a situation where he'd have to explain to Arthur why he'd killed Ottery soldiers.

He wasn't surprised when Marlene and Lily were invisible as he looked back over at them. It was Marlene's go-to defense. _You can't easily attack what you can't see_, and he couldn't fault her logic. Sirius stepped closer to James and tried to listen for more movement aside from the four of them.

He simultaneously had to push down the part of him that hated not being able to see Marlene, or Lily for that matter. He knew Marlene could take care of herself and Lily, he knew he was being ridiculous and potentially putting James in danger, but a part of him was quickly wanting to protect Marlene and Lily as much as he wanted to protect James. Marlene had managed to earn his respect almost instantly, and quite a bit more over the last several days - not that he would ever admit to any of that. He'd never admit how many times he'd almost kissed her, how frequently he stopped himself for reaching for her. He'd never admit any of that. But Sirius could quite easily admit that he was quite fond of Lily, he already found himself thinking of her as his queen. She was kind and had a heart as good as Monty's had been, and in their short time together he felt lucky to count her as a friend; he'd told James as much.

If James could manage to tell her who he was without getting killed, she'd make as good a queen as Mia ever was.

They moved slower in the trees, and perhaps his aggravation at that is why he didn't see it coming. Though Marlene didn't see it either so perhaps not. But before he knew what had happened, Sirius was suddenly forced up against a tree with a knife to his neck.

His training kicked in immediately as he reached for one of the several knives hidden about his person, but the man holding him moved off to the side as he pushed the knife against his skin.

"Easy there."

Sirius felt a sharp prick and blood trickle down his neck as he beheld another man holding James in a similar bind. Both men holding them were hulking and he immediately saw that their strength was what they would rely on, along with the threat of hurting James. He wouldn't overpower them, but maybe he could outwit them, or at least buy Marlene some time.

"We're just travelers, take our possessions and let us go."

"It isn't any of your things we want, but rather those pretty companions you've been traveling with." The man holding James sneered.

Sirius pushed away his rage and panic and maintained a neutral face, "I'm afraid you have the wrong travelers, my brother and I travel alone."

"Don't bother lying," the man holding him pushed the knife a bit harder against his neck; Sirius grit his teeth to keep from flinching. "We've been following you most of the day."

"What sort of men follow innocent travelers?" James tried to free his arms but the first man held him tighter.

Sirius held back his groan. Trust his King to try and bring manners into a conversation with murderers.

"I bet they don't know," the man holding James gave an evil smile. Then he looked around at the forest.

"Shall I tell them, your Highness? Have you been keeping secrets? Using these weary travelers, not letting them know who you are? For shame, your Highness. I'm sure they would be filled with honor to know they travel with…"

His words died on his lips as he spouted blood and fell to the ground.

Sirius took advantage of the surprise and panic that overtook his captor. Before the man knew what happened, Sirius' dagger was in hand and it slid smoothly up and across his captor's throat.

The man's gripped slacked immediately and Sirius easily threw him off.

"Get across the border," Sirius turned to where he assumed Marlene was standing. "Run, go as fast as you can! If you want to keep traveling together, we'll meet you at whatever the first town is along the road in Ottery. We'll wait until tomorrow morning for you."

James started to protest but Sirius stomped on his foot.

"Go!" He gave the command one last time before turning to the two would-be assailants as he heard his former companions running through the trees.

"Help me move them, James."

"Sirius, we can't let them go on by themselves!" James fumed and moved to run after them but Sirius held him in place and somehow resisted the urge to yell at his sovereign.

"Come on, I'm no necromancer so they won't be moving if we don't do it." He quipped, trying to diffuse some humor into the awfulness they found themselves in.

"Is this a joke to you?" James glared at him but did follow suit in pulling the bodies further into the forest.

Sirius dropped the body and turned to glare back at James.

"Far from it, your Majesty," he couldn't keep the venom out of his voice, "this is anything but a joke to me."

Sirius didn't even bother to try and scavenge the bodies for anything useful. He grabbed James' arm and began pulling him through the forest towards Ottery.

And he hoped Marlene and Lily as well.


	20. Chapter 20

**James:**

Furious didn't properly begin to describe how upset James felt. In all the years he'd known Sirius, James had never wanted to really hurt him until this moment. He roughly shook off Sirius' grip on his arm and fumed as they trudged through the trees. But after twenty minutes, he couldn't keep a lid on his anger any longer.

"Why did you tell them to leave!?"

Sirius gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Don't patronize me! You sent them out into the forest where they could easily leave us behind for good!"

"Exactly," Sirius nodded as if that explained everything.

"Why?!"

"I'm upholding my oath, James."

James felt the vein in his throat beating hard as his anger only increased. "Your oath was to protect me, not be a heartless traitor who sends his friends out to face the slaughter alone!"

"Are you finished?" Sirius snapped, "Because amazingly enough, I _was_ upholding my oath."

James went to object but Sirius cut him off.

"Did it occur to you that Marlene may have decided us knowing who they are would put Lily in danger? And that would mean the two of them leaving us behind would be the least of our worries!"

He pulled a hand over his face.

"I don't want to be forced to fight Marlene to the death and I'd like to think she'd feel the same, so I gave her an out. She took it. We'll see if she decides us suspecting Lily is some form of royalty is cause to part ways or not, but if you value my life, if you value Marlene's life, and if you value Lily's happiness, you'll not have us trying to find them or catch up to them. If we travel with them again, it has to be because they've chosen it, not because we've tricked then into it - again."

James felt Sirius' words hit him square in the face and they pulled his guilt front and center. He suddenly felt keenly that he had passed up several opportunities to be open with Lily about who he was in favor of being a coward. And she believed him some innocent bystander, a nobody who was kind to her out of the goodness of his heart. James was sure he was going to collapse under that weight and he quickly pushed it away. It was probably over now anyway, he'd seen the last of Princess Lily.

But he couldn't help but hope that wasn't true. He wanted her to trust him. He wanted her to wait for him. He wanted to make things right.

They traveled in silence the rest of the way to the first town in Ottery. Arthur was an orderly bloke and all his towns were required to have straight roads and his treasury paid for an inn in most of his towns so visitors would have comfortable accommodations in his country. James suspected that the latter may have had more to do with Molly than Arthur but he was grateful for it either way.

Their old tent was packed away in Lily's tent at the moment.

After getting a room and a warm meal, James reluctantly drafted a message with Sirius to send to Remus and Peter. He wanted to be out looking through the trees for Lily, not writing coded letters to his mates. They knew what to do and they knew how to run the kingdom. Honestly, James thought maybe the kingdom was in better hands with Rems and Pete. At least they weren't chasing down their arranged bride as she tried to run away from them. He definitely was.

"Let's go see about buying a new tent," Sirius folded up their message and sealed it with some wax from their candle.

"Don't talk like that," James glared at him.

"I can protect you more effectively if we sleep in a tent rather than out in the open, James." Sirius heaved a sigh.

James shook his head. He hated that his plan had crumbled before he'd been able to completely carry it out. There looked to be no happily ever after in his story.

"I can feed you better as well," Sirius tried for a laugh but James sighed, moving towards the door.

"Let's get this done. The sooner we're set, the sooner I can sleep and hope this whole thing was a nightmare."

Sirius stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, James."

James hung his head and fisted his hand in his hair.

"Me too, Sirius."


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update so I can help my sister out tomorrow with her sweet kids. =D I'll post the next two chapters on November 16th.

**Marlene:**

She'd never run so hard in her entire life. Marlene wasn't sure what she was more terrified of, that there might be more people hiding in the woods, that James and Sirius potentially now knew who she and Lily were, or that she'd just killed a man.

The latter, her brain told her, definitely the latter.

She was running more so from herself.

Her training had kicked in and she'd acted immediately, without thinking. Her intent had originally been to simply free James, she hadn't been planning to kill the captor, but as the cretin had started to spout off who Lily was, Marlene's aim shifted and suddenly her dagger was in hand and she was pressing it into the back of his throat and just as suddenly the man holding Sirius slumped forward as Sirius' dagger was true to his aim.

Marlene was grateful she'd been invisible, because no one, specifically Sirius, had seen her freeze, had seen her horror at her own actions. She would have remained in her frozen state too if Sirius' commanding voice hadn't penetrated her horror. When he said run, she moved quickly back to where she remembered Lily being, grabbed her, and ran.

And as she ran from herself, Marlene pulled Lily along with her.

"Mar," Lily panted, "Mar, please, I need to rest, for just a minute."

Reluctantly, Marlene slowed their pace, holding tightly to Lily's hand so as not to lose her. Part of Marlene's brain registered it was a small miracle she'd found Lily so quickly when Sirius had commanded them to run. She didn't dare trust for a second miracle, not after what she'd done.

"We can't be much further from the border," Marlene tried to keep her voice from going shrill while simultaneously willing her hands to be still. She couldn't let Lily feel her trembling.

"Right," Lily's breathing was heavy, "I think if we go just a bit slower, I can run it."

"Alright," Marlene thought she might be able to run forever with how much adrenaline was pumping through her veins. But she complied with Lily's plea to slow down, and within the hour she was positive they'd crossed into Ottery.

"Let's get back to the road," she whispered.

"Right," Lily's breathing was heavy as she responded.

Now moving at a brisk walk and as quietly as they could, Marlene moved them back to the road. She finally had been able to push her internal struggle with morality aside for a moment but her brain was now obsessing over if they were going to rejoin Sirius and James.

Their journey towards the town was uneventful, but Marlene still walked with her wand held tightly in her first. She had to keep her grip on Lily's hand slightly less tight, as Lily had told her twice her grip was cutting off Lily's circulation. After what felt like a paranoid eternity, Marlene saw the town.

"Let's set camp back in the trees and make sure everything is invisible. I don't want anyone to find us."

"What about James and Sirius?" Lily's voice betrayed her confusion.

Marlene sidestepped the question, "I mean anyone unfriendly."

Lily didn't respond but she held tight to Marlene's hand as they moved back into the trees. Marlene pushed them a full five-minute walk back into the trees before looking for a clearing large enough for their tent. And once the tent was up, she set every ward and spell she knew.

It was overkill, she knew that, but she was still panicking in a corner of her mind.

In that corner of her mind, she was screaming as she replayed the knife sliding into the man's neck again and again and him falling to the ground in front of her, lifeless. And the rest of her brain needed to know she wouldn't be required to do that again, at least not right now, at least not until she'd been able to deal with the reality, her reality.

She'd killed a man.

Once back in the tent and visible again, Marlene tried to shut the door on the part of her mind that was screaming. They had decisions to make and she needed her wits about her. She needed to be able to think, she needed to be able to function as Lily's guardian, she needed to be strong, no matter how much she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, she couldn't.

She had an oath to uphold.

"Alright," Marlene sighed as she sat in the chair across from Lily at the table. "We need to decide what's next."

"We find James and Sirius," Lily said it emphatically and Marlene took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Lily, they're probably not far from figuring out who you are. What then?"

Lily frowned. "But the idiot just kept saying 'your Highness' and that doesn't imply anything with Privet."

"No, but all it takes is for them to overhear a conversation in town that Privet's princess has run away and it's not hard to guess. There are no other refugees pouring out of Privet, Lils. Just you and me. Then Sirius and James are both almost killed because of us and there would be murderers who can't stop calling out to a princess. It's not a difficult puzzle." Marlene pressed her palm into her forehead, willing the pounding and echoing in her head to be still to no avail.

"Let me think about it," Lily sighed after a quiet moment.

Marlene nodded. She needed Lily to help her make this decision, and it killed her to admit why.

Because after only twenty yards into running, she almost turned them back. She almost lifted the invisibility charms. She almost ran right back to _him_.

Almost.

She didn't, and maybe that's why they were still alive, but Marlene couldn't trust herself right now, not after a moment of such blatant weakness.

Not after nearly failing Lily entirely.

And as Lily sat with a frown on her face, Marlene felt her grip on her emotions start to unravel.

Merlin, help her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Lily:**

She was completely overwhelmed. Lily tried desperately to calm her mind, to think clearly, to not give in to the desperate desire to curl up into a ball and cry.

Marlene looked like a shell; like she had died inside at the same time the man holding James had slumped to the ground.

And Lily knew it was her fault.

She was the reason Marlene had to kill someone. She was why Marlene's hands trembled in her lap. She was the reason her second parents were probably rotting away in a prison cell. She was the reason James and Sirius nearly died. She was the one who put all of them in this position in the first place. She was to blame.

But she couldn't think about that now. Lily needed to think about what they were going to do next.

And as she was wont to do, Lily let her heart lead.

"We should keep traveling with James and Sirius. If we don't we only confirm any suspicions. It's the only way to make them think I'm not Princess Lily of Privet. If I really was the Princess, we would have let this stop our arrangement. But we aren't going to let this stop us, and that will lead them to believe this attack wasn't what it looked like. Besides, who would they trust more, people who tried to kill them or us?"

Lily stopped herself from rambling further as Marlene looked up at her.

"I love you, but there are a lot of holes in this plan."

"It just comes back to my first point, really," Lily glared, "if we don't keep traveling with them then we tell them the attackers were right and I am a princess."

Marlene's frown deepened and she wrapped her hands around the back of her neck. It was a habit Lily had seen Elspeth do so often it would have been endearing under different circumstances.

"So what do we tell them?" Marlene slumped forward, her eyes now staring straight at the floor in front of her.

Lily held back her shout of protest. They'd figure it out, but now was not the time for meticulous planning, now was the time to find James and Sirius.

"We tell them that we have no idea what the two were talking about and that as soon as we set camp we went to find them, so let's go."

"Do you want to sleep on this?" Marlene's voice was hollow and Lily tried to push down the guilt and concern that flooded her. They'd fix everything as soon as they were all back together. She'd get Marlene through this, she'd make things right again, Lily resolved to fix it all, once James and Sirius were back with them and not deducing who she actually was.

"No," Lily stood and pulled Marlene up to standing, "let's go now. The sooner we find them the better."

Lily expected Marlene to protest and fight with her, but instead, she quietly nodded, took her hand in a death grip, and cast them invisible.

"Don't let go of me," she said quietly, more like a plea than a command.

Lily swallowed her panic. Marlene didn't act this way. Marlene was always in control, always up for butting heads with her, always assertive. And suddenly Lily felt like her foundation had crumbled beneath her.

They had to get James and Sirius back - now.

If she could have them there to watch over things Lily could focus on bringing Marlene back. Maybe Sirius could help, maybe it was a "guardian" thing. But whatever it was, Lily knew they needed James and Sirius. She couldn't fix anything until Marlene could trust they were safe.

And in the darkest corner of her heart, she admitted that she wasn't ready to say goodbye to James. Not yet, and certainly not like this.

They needed to get James and Sirius back.

Lily let Marlene lead her back the way they came, but once they reached the little town, Marlene paused for what felt like an eternity.

"Perhaps we try an inn?" Lily finally whispered.

Marlene didn't move but she whispered affirmatively. "Right, because we have their tent, they'd need an inn."

Lily wanted to scream. Everything was falling down around her ears and she was desperately trying to keep it together herself. She needed Marlene to be strong. She needed her to be self-assured and assertive. Lily didn't know how to function with Marlene breaking this way.

So she did the only thing she could think of, Lily pushed back the panic and took charge.

She pulled them into the town, careful to avoid bumping into anyone. She listened to the conversations as she pulled Marlene along to determine where an inn would be. It seemed that the town only had one, which suited Lily just fine. And once she found it, Lily found a place where they could sit and watch for James and Sirius to show up.

What she didn't prepare for was how long they would wait. Apparently, she and Marlene had run harder than she thought they had - that, or James and Sirius were deliberately moving slowly.

Lily didn't like the implications of the latter and chose to ignore that option.

She and Marlene were just fast runners, that was all.

The sun was quite a bit lower in the sky when she finally saw them.

And her heart broke.

James looked utterly dejected, and he walked like a man who'd lost everything. Lily barely bit back the impulse to call out to him. She had to fix this, all of it. She had to fix Marlene. She had to fix James. She had to make things right somehow and ensure that Angus and Elspeth and Catherine were all safe and not currently rotting in her sister's dungeon. James told her that he let the not-so-nice choices from his past be lessons to help him grow to be better, and Lily determined she'd start working to get there too.

But her first task was to reunite their little group, and as she watched James and Sirius disappear into the inn, Lily had to figure out how to get their attention when they reemerged. She racked her brains as she sat, invisible and clutching Marlene's hand when finally an idea came to her.

"Mar," she whispered, "could you make me a little bit of the gold rope you used to bind James?"

"Yes," Marlene's hollow voice responded quietly.

"I need about three feet," Lily smiled as her plan took hold in her mind, "and I'll need the same length in purple."

Marlene sighed heavily, and then two coils of rope appeared in front of Lily, one the same gold that had bound James a bit more than a week prior, and the other a deep royal purple, Lily hoped it looked like what his mother had used to do the same.

Lily grinned, "Thanks, Mar."

Hopefully, this would be enough to get their attention; hopefully, she didn't need a plan b, because Lily didn't have one.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapters go up November 23rd.
> 
> I binge wrote on this story this past week, and I'm so excited because this story is now 46K words long and still has a bit more before it wraps up! As soon as I finish it I'll probably start doing 4 chapters a week, or maybe more, depending on how many chapters the finished story ends up being.

**Sirius:**

Sirius thought he might be dreaming.

They had walked out of the inn to search for a message carrier and buy a tent and the first thing he saw was rope tied to an old post in the ground, gold, and royal purple ropes.

"Do you see that?!" James hissed.

Sirius nodded but held James' arm. If this wasn't Marlene and Lily then this was a very well laid trap.

"We need to find a message carrier," he reminded James.

James tried to shake his arm free, "No, Sirius, we need to find Lily!"

Sirius cursed as James shook himself free. Peter was right, James had the better job; running the country was loads easier than trying to look after its sovereign.

"James," Sirius hissed as he grabbed him again.

"Unhand me," James glared at him, "consider that a command."

Sirius glared back as he let his hand fall. He wondered if James really understood he was putting both their necks on the line as they walked to where the rope was tied to the post.

"Lily?" James whispered.

"We've camped a way back into the trees outside of town."

Sirius let out a huge breath of relief when it was Lily's voice that answered and not an ambush.

"Take the ropes," Sirius murmured quietly, "tie the purple one to show us where to start into the trees, and the gold one a ways in. You'll know we're close when we set off the wards."

"Alright, Sirius," Lily's voice whispered quietly, "come on Mar."

Sirius frowned. Marlene should have been the one to respond, not Lily.

He didn't have much time to consider it as he had to stop James from attempting to follow the sound of Lily's footsteps.

"Will you listen to me for two seconds?" Sirius growled as he gripped James' arm, "Because not only do we need to get this message out, we also need to collect our packs before we go after them."

James' frown managed to deepen but finally, he nodded, "Then let's hurry."

A message carrier wasn't too hard to track down, and then Sirius had to hold James back from running to return to the inn.

"We'll need to leave invisible," Sirius started reloading his pack. "And that means waiting for someone to open the door for us."

James groaned, "I swear you hate me."

Sirius chuckled, "I hate you enough to protect your reckless hide."

They didn't have to wait too long before someone did finally open the door and then Sirius let James run. It would let the man work off some adrenaline before they returned to Lily and Marlene, which if they ever made it through all this alive, Lily would probably thank him for it.

The only time James stopped was to collect and coil the two lengths of rope that helped guide them in. Sirius almost used the ropes to keep his sovereign attached to him.

As the sun disappeared completely behind the horizon, Sirius started to worry this really was a trap. They hadn't found the camp yet and now their light was gone. He lit his wand just in time to see Lily come running out of nowhere and straight into James' arms.

The camp was invisible, of course, it was, and he was an idiot.

"Come on," Lily pulled James forward.

"Where's Marlene?" Sirius looked around, something was very wrong, and he was sure he wasn't going to like it.

Lily's face took on a worried cast in his wand light, "She's inside."

Sirius managed to not run blindly into their tent, seeing as he had no idea where it was. Instead, he followed behind Lily and James as she led them through the wards.

As they entered the tent his eyes sought Marlene out immediately, and his mind couldn't comprehend what he saw.

Marlene sat on the floor, her legs against her chest, her head down against her knees, her hands clutched in her unplaited curls.

"Sirius," Lily's voice broke his baffled silence, "Can you help her, please? She won't talk to me."

"Sirius can help."

Sirius turned to see James wrap his arm back around Lily.

"He'll take care of her."

"Let me set a few more wards," Sirius murmured and turned to the tent flap. He really didn't want any surprises right now.

When he returned, James still held Lily close to him, and Marlene still sat curled in a ball on the floor. A part of Sirius wanted to wrap himself around her until she came back to them, but he had his oath to uphold, on more than one account.

He went to Lily first.

"What happened, Lily? After we separated?"

Lily looked like she wanted to cry, but her voice was sure as she spoke, "We ran until we crossed the border, then we walked until we found the town, then we set up camp and went to find you."

Sirius frowned, "So how did Marlene go from running to this?"

"I don't know. She was shaking afterward, but I thought it was from the adrenaline. Then she slowly became distant, and when we made it back here, she sat down on the floor and hasn't moved."

Lily's voice shook just slightly, but she managed to maintain control.

Merlin, she'd make a fearsome queen.

"I think, I think it's because of what happened."

"Because of the attack?" Sirius felt his frown deepen.

Lily's voice broke this time, and Sirius saw the threatening tears, "Because she killed someone protecting me."

And then it all made sense.

"Until today, Marlene hasn't killed anyone defending you."

Lily nodded as the tears finally spilled over.

Sirius sighed heavily and nodded to James.

"Take care of her, and be prepared for a few days here. This might take a while."

Sirius remembered every man he'd killed defending James.

The first was a highwayman who didn't know James was the crown prince but didn't care either way. Sirius had been seventeen. It had been awful, and if not for the King and Queen's guardians that oversaw all his training, he didn't think he would have recovered.

The second had been a man who had probably been crazy. It was at a ceremonial parade for Monty's birthday and the man had lunged at the open-air carriage screaming nonsense. Sirius and the royal couple's guardians had only been concerned about pushing him off the carriage but then the man pulled a knife and threw it. It grazed James and Sirius felt the magic of his oath take hold. His blood felt like it was on fire as he reached for his favorite dagger and drove it forward. It wasn't until the man fell to the ground that Sirius felt his own blood stop burning within him.

The next seven had been recent. Those idiots had felt James was unfit and too young to rule Godric's Hollow. Their solution was to ambush him in his quarters. All of them had been magic users and were unprepared for the kind of magic Sirius learned in his childhood growing up in Knockturn. Magic could be used for all sorts of unpleasantness that Godric's Hollow was, for the most part, unaware of. It was ugly, but James was safe, and every single one of the idiots weren't around to cause problems anymore, all refused to surrender, all refused to live.

And then today, that idiot made ten.

Sirius wasn't proud of it, he didn't glory in it, but keeping count helped him put some distance between himself and killing in the defense of his King and brother. That distance made it so he could sleep at night.

Looking at Marlene, Sirius knew this was different. Marlene had killed for the first time, and she'd killed the man for threatening to give information that could have endangered Lily. Not because they had attacked Lily directly. Her blood probably hadn't burned at all. She'd done it because she felt she had to. Because she was with them.

He could only imagine the storm raging inside her mind right now.

Tentatively, Sirius sat next to her on the floor, unsure of how to begin.

"Marlene."

She didn't respond, and Sirius almost thought her asleep until she tensed as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Marlene, I'm here, and I swear to you I'll keep us all safe. I'm here, you're not alone."

He heard her take a shuddering breath before her body started to shake with her quiet sobs. Quickly, he pulled her into him and held her close as she cried. Gently, he pulled her fists from her soft curls. Her hands simply shifted to his shirt and she clung to him as though her life depended on it.

And he held her.

He held her because he didn't know what else to do. He held her because she was so close there wasn't much sense in _not_ holding her. And in the darkest corner of his heart, he admitted that he held her because he wanted to hold her.

He had wanted to hold her before he knew who she really was. He had wanted to hold her since she'd locked eyes with him that night in Knockturn. He'd stolen moments of holding her over the last nearly two weeks of traveling together. And now she clung to him, but Merlin, he wished this was under different circumstances. Because holding her now, like this, made the lies they told that much harder to swallow. He'd done this to her.

At some point she quieted, at some point she fell asleep, pressed against him like he was the only thing holding her up. Sirius gingerly gathered her into his arms. He carried her to her cot and tucked her in for the night. He didn't think he'd ever get the chance again, and so he let his hand brush across the soft skin on her cheek, move to caress her hair as he brushed it behind her shoulder, and let his fingertips slide along the curve of her neck as he pulled away.

His chest ached.

It ached for how much Marlene hurt. It ached for lying to her. It ached that his lies had caused her to kill out of fear. It ached for the hold she had over him. And it ached as he walked away from her sleeping form when every fiber in his being wanted to lay next to her and continue holding her all through the night.


	24. Chapter 24

**James:**

Lily curled into him as she cried, and James pulled her closer.

"Let's sit down," he murmured and led her to his cot.

He owed her explanations and apologies and so much more, but first, he needed to help her through this.

"It's hard when your guardian has to do something awful to protect you."

Tentatively he undid the tie that held her plaited hair back. She didn't pull away so he softly worked the stands free, running his fingers through her glorious hair.

"This is all my fault," she cried quietly.

"No," James pulled her impossibly closer, "it's not your fault. I know we can't tell each other everything about what's going on, but I _know_ this isn't your fault."

Lily looked up at him and her tear-streaked face broke his heart.

"You don't understand, I, I made some decisions, and if I hadn't, then Marlene wouldn't be broken on the floor right now."

James wanted to swear. This whole mess was more his fault than Lily's.

"I've done the same thing," he assured her. "I've made decisions that have hurt those closest to me. One of them led to Sirius killing seven men I trusted and thought supported me even when my friends warned me against them. But like I told you before, I try to learn from those situations, to be better because of them, and I know you can too."

Lily paused, she searched his face for several moments before speaking in a whisper.

"You said you had one regret still, what is it?"

Her question pulled the air out of him.

It would be so easy to lie, to make up something or pull one of his old regrets out again, but James had vowed that he'd stop lying to her. He'd promised himself that if he got a second chance, he'd do this right.

However, he was keenly aware now was probably not the time to tell this panicked and distraught princess that he was the arranged husband she was running from.

So James compromised.

"My one regret is that I can't be completely honest with you."

Lily frowned, and before she could respond, James pressed on.

"Lily, you're quickly becoming very important to me. I'm not great at keeping things from my friends, and you," he paused as his heart ached with trying to describe exactly what she did to him, "you've worked your way into my trusted circle faster than anyone ever has and I want to share everything with you. I want to tell you all about growing up in Godric's Hollow, not just what won't give anything away. I want to talk about who Sirius and I are outside of this journey. I want to ask for your opinion and help with how to handle a dozen other things that would give away too much information. I want to throw caution and responsibility to the wind and settle down wherever you and Marlene are going and take you on horseback rides through the countryside and practice archery with you and learn everything about you and how wonderful you are. I want to be able to share everything with you, and it kills me that I can't do any of that because we're hiding from each other."

James held his breath as Lily's eyes shifted color, the hazel coming forward before giving way to the blue and finally settling back to her gorgeous green.

"I, I, I think I'd be alright with you, with us," she bit her lip, "with going horseback riding with you."

James felt his smile break across his face of its own accord.

"Am I that bad at archery?"

The laugh that bubbled out of Lily was watery but it was still music to his ears.

"You're starting to out-shoot me, I have a very fragile ego, I'll have you know."

James grinned, "I am _not_ out-shooting you."

Lily smiled and rested her head against his shoulder. James relished the feeling of her being so close, feeling her body rising and falling with her breath, feeling the heat from her perfect form as she pressed against him.

"I'm exhausted," she yawned.

James smiled, this felt so right, even when so much around them was so wrong.

"Why don't you sleep?"

"I should stay awake till Marlene is alright."

James looked over at where Sirius sat on the floor with his arms around Marlene. It was then he realized the woman was quietly sobbing. He was reasonably sure she wouldn't be alright tonight, and she probably wouldn't be alright tomorrow either.

"Sirius is with her, and he understands better than we do. Let him take care of her, Lils. You should sleep."

Lily sighed heavily, "I don't know why she shut me out."

"I'm sure she isn't shutting you out permanently," James turned his focus back to Lily. "She's overwhelmed, and it will take some time for her to let these emotions out."

Lily nodded against him but didn't answer.

"Here," James pushed them up to standing, "We'll move to your cot and you can lay down and rest. I'll wake you if Marlene needs you."

Lily yawned again and buried herself in his side. "Alright, but please don't let me sleep for my own good."

"I promise," James stepped back so she could climb under her blankets, then he levitated one of the chairs over to sit next to her cot. "Now, get some sleep."

Lily sighed and reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Thank you, James." Her voice was heavy and her eyes were blinking shut.

"Anything for you, Lils."

And like magic, she was asleep.

James sat there holding and caressing Lily's hand in his own as she slept. He became lost in the feel of her fingers wrapped around his, watching the way her body relaxed into sleep, the way the creamy freckled skin on her face softened as the strain and stress in her expression melted away into a small peaceful smile.

He was so caught up in Lily, that he nearly jumped when Sirius loudly cleared his throat.

James looked around to see Marlene tucked into her blankets and Sirius sitting at the table, looking like he was one-hundred-years-old. James wasn't sure what had happened to Sirius, but this trip seemed to have pulled all the mischief out of him. James sighed, Remus and Peter were probably going to pummel him for it.

Reluctantly, James tucked Lily's hand back against her body and crossed the room to Sirius.

"How is Lily?"

James couldn't help himself as he looked back over at her.

"She's better, I think. She cried for a while, but I think that was what did it, let all the adrenaline finally run out."

James turned back to Sirius, "What about Marlene?"

Sirius shook his head, "The fact that she cried at all tonight is probably a good sign. But she wasn't prepared for this in the slightest. Whoever trained her missed a huge part of her education! No one taught her how to distance herself from this!"

James was taken aback by the venom in Sirius' voice.

"Well, you're here, and you were trained by Dad and Mum's guardians. Why don't you train her? You can help her with those holes in her education."

Sirius looked past James to where the women were sleeping.

"I'm not sure she'd go for it, James."

James frowned, "Don't make it a formal classroom, just talk to her like you're reminding her of lessons she's already had."

Sirius continued to stare past him.

"I really hate it when you have decent ideas."

James smirked. "It's a quality of being kingly."

Sirius smirked, and James saw a bit of his brother's mischief returning.

"I'm going to regret saying this, but you're not an awful monarch."

"I'm a bit more concerned about being a decent friend right now." James sighed and looked back at where Lily slept.

"Can I ask something of you Sirius, as your brother, not your King?"

"Of course, James," Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and James took some strength from the gesture as he watched Lily's body rise and fall with her breath.

"I, would you protect Lily? I'm not unskilled with a wand and am confident I could take care of her safety in that regard, but I'm somewhat less useful with non-magical combat. Will you make sure she's safe, just as you do me?"

"Of course, James."

James continued to watch the beautiful princess sleep as Sirius answered, but something about his brother's response seemed weird. However, when he turned to look at him, Sirius looked like everything was completely fine.

Maybe James had imagined it.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't be posting next week because it's a holiday week here in the US and I'm helping put on the meal and host family and whatnot. But I'll see you all on December 7th and since I'm currently writing chapter 45 I'll make that post a special week put up four chapters. :)

**Marlene:**

Foggy.

Everything had become clouded.

It had happened as she and Lily waited for Sirius and James outside the inn. It was too much time to be silent and alone with her thoughts, with the echoing, screaming, and pounding inside her head. By the time Lily had managed to get them back to the tent, Marlene had to focus all her attention on just getting one foot in front of the other. Once she registered they were back within the protection of her wards, Marlene used the last of her grasp on herself to drop the invisibility charm before she collapsed onto the floor.

The next thing she remembered was Sirius, his voice, his touch, his promise to protect them, and then she remembered crying for relief.

There were nightmares - or something like them. Stabbing the man she killed again and again, then stabbing random people her mind threw together to torment her, and her hands covered in blood, blood on her arms, blood in her hair, blood on her face.

She'd bolt awake and find herself in Sirius' arms. She'd cling to him and lose herself as the fog overtook her again.

Marlene didn't know how long she spent in the fog, but she was registering that she was slowly coming into wakefulness as she lay on her cot and that the fog was mostly gone. She blinked her eyes open as she pulled in a deep breath.

"Marly?" Lily's voice was timid and quiet but Marlene turned toward her instantly.

"Are you alright?" Marlene tried to sit up only to have a firm but gentle hand press her back down.

"Easy, you'll pass out if you sit up too fast."

Marlene turned her head to see Sirius sitting next to her cot, his face full of relief.

She sighed, "I'm sorry."

"No!" Lily grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry! This is all my fault, Mar, not yours!"

Marlene gave a hollow laugh, but before she could retort, James cut in with a commanding voice.

"It's no one's fault," he put a hand on Lily's shoulder.

Marlene narrowed her gaze at him but said nothing.

"Marlene," Sirius' voice pulled her eyes away from James. "Do you feel like eating something?"

"More like drinking something," Her mouth felt like cotton.

"I'll get some water," Lily jumped up.

"Here," Sirius pressed his hand behind her shoulders and lifted her upright.

"Whoa," Marlene saw stars for a moment as Sirius moved his other arm around to hold her steady.

"Easy," Sirius pulled her into him and Marlene shut her eyes, trying not to pass out.

"Slow, deep breaths," Sirius murmured, next to her ear.

Marlene would have let her mind focus on his proximity if she wasn't putting every ounce of her strength towards maintaining consciousness.

"Here, Mar," Marlene felt Lily press the cup of water to her lips, "Sip this."

The water felt like life rushing back into her body.

Marlene opened her eyes and braced herself for more stars, but amazingly her vision didn't cloud.

"How long have I been out?"

"A bit less than two days," Lily offered her the cup again but Marlene shook her head.

"We should get going."

"It's after dark, Marlene," James chuckled and Marlene glared at him. She and Lily had traveled at night before.

Sirius must have felt her tense because he pulled her closer to him.

"James, why don't you and Lily try to reheat some of the stew I made without burning it."

James rolled his eyes but Lily jumped and nearly ran the few feet to their small stove, James sauntering behind her.

"I'm sorry," Marlene sighed. She hated how weak she was. Obviously her father had been wrong; when it mattered most, Marlene was anything but fit to be a guardian.

"We have an agreement, Marlene," Sirius' voice was quiet. "When you took over James' protection that day, I knew it meant I'd look after Lily if the occasion arose. You have nothing to be apologizing for."

Right, their agreement, the main reason Lily was still alive after Marlene had shirked her responsibilities for roughly forty-eight hours. It was probably why she was still alive as well.

"But," Sirius' tone changed, "If I were honest, I would have taken care of both of you without that agreement."

Marlene didn't dare look up at him as she spoke. "And why is that, do you think?"

Sirius was quiet for a beat, and Marlene wondered if he hadn't heard her.

"Because I consider you both friends, and I'm rather a loyal prat when it comes to my friends."

Marlene chastised herself for the moment of disappointment she initially felt at Sirius thinking of her as only a friend. He knew that more wasn't an option as well as she did.

She was being pathetic, and she hoped in a few days she could blame it on being overtaken by this stupid fog.

"Well, I also happen to think of you as a friend." She forced a smile and turned boldly to look up at him, willing some iron into her back.

"And James?" Sirius smirked at her.

"He's alright, now that he knows I'm not to be trifled with." She shrugged but couldn't help the smile that pulled on her lips.

Sirius laughed, "Let's get you some food. Then I think it would be wise for you and I to talk about what happened. Lily mentioned that this is the first time you've had to kill in her defense."

"Oh, she did, eh?" Marlene barely resisted the impulse to turn and glare at her best friend.

"I asked her point-blank, Marlene, if you're going to be mad, be mad at me."

Marlene groaned and pressed her palm against her forehead as the fog tried to return, "I'm not fit for this."

"Actually, I think you just need some reminders from our training is all." Sirius squeezed her shoulders.

"Like what?" Marlene couldn't think of anything from her training that could help her right now. Her training had revolved entirely around learning how to fight to defend Lily.

"For starters, remembering that the man you killed fully intended to kill both James, me, and probably you in order to get to Lily."

That was true, Marlene could still feel her anger as she watched the blood trickle down Sirius' neck.

"Let's get you some food," Sirius moved his arm from her shoulders and Marlene tried to ignore how much colder it was outside of his embrace. "Then we'll talk a bit more."

Marlene nodded as Sirius moved towards the small stove, most likely to ensure Lily and James weren't burning her stew.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wondered why no one had bothered to tell her that in the event she might have to kill someone while defending Lily, her brain would attempt to implode upon itself.


	26. Chapter 26

**Lily:**

They'd been talking for more than two hours.

Lily watched as Sirius and Marlene sat by the tent door murmuring quietly.

Well, quietly _now_, but there were plenty of points where they had been shouting. Apparently the people Angus had entrusted Marlene's training to had forgotten some things, and Marlene didn't appreciate Sirius pointing out her inadequacies.

Not that Lily would ever think Marlene was inadequate, but Marlene and Sirius were both good for bashing heads. Marlene always pushed back with Lily, and Lily saw the same behavior from Sirius when it came to James. Sirius even pushed back against her, he just hid it under sugar-coated suggestions and observations. When Marlene and Sirius were together, without her and James thrown into the mix, they were fire - warm and comfortable under the right circumstances or blazing and terrifying under the wrong ones, and often landing somewhere between the two extremes.

"Lily," James' voice pulled her back to the fire in the stove next to her and away from watching the figurative fire by the door.

She smiled. These last two days Lily had allowed herself to give in a bit more to the connection she felt with James. He was sweet and chivalrous and so familiar it would have been hard not to give in at all.

"Sorry, a part of my brain is worried I'm imagining that she's alright."

"I don't know about her being alright," James chuckled, "at least not with Sirius making her yell at him."

Lily grinned and glanced back at Marlene and Sirius.

"That's how I know she's alright. It's when Marlene is timid and agreeable that I know something is wrong."

James paused and looked over at his brother, "Sirius is like that. So how do we get them both to agree that you should come to Godric's Hollow so we can spend our days horseback riding?"

"James," Lily sighed, "the people after us, some of them are bound to come from Godric's Hollow."

The panic at realizing she'd said too much overtook her immediately, but before she could come up with a cover for her slip, James was diving after it.

"So they'll never expect you to be _in_ Godric's Hollow!" James looked like he had just outmaneuvered her in a chess match. "It's the safest place in the world for you!"

Lily was speechless. Was James right? Was hiding in Godric's Hollow the best solution?

"Maybe," James pulled her hand into his, "maybe we could convince our siblings that we don't need to hide from each other either?"

Lily shook her head, "If you're half as loyal to your King as you are to your friends then that would be a bad idea."

And there was her big mouth again. Merlin! Why couldn't she control her tongue?!

"I mean, er, I, can we forget I said that?"

"What do you know about our King, Lily?" James' voice was almost sad and his expression had sobered.

"Not much..." _Other than he's willing to marry a girl he's never met and it made her magic-hating sister supremely happy._

James sighed, "The King of Godric's Hollow wants nothing more than for his subjects to be happy. He's bent over backward more than once to take care of them. He learned it from his father and mother before they passed away. They taught him to be kind and to put the people first. He knows the name of every servant who works in the palace, mostly because as a boy he'd run away from his tutors to be with the servants and convince them to tell him stories in exchange for help cleaning and chopping and folding. He has scrubbed the main hall more times than he can count in exchange for the stories the head maid was willing to tell him while she rested her feet. He's young and he knows it, but he's determined to live to be one of the greatest kings Godric's Hollow has ever had."

Lily felt her heart sink.

James was completely loyal to his King, and obviously thought the world of him. If he knew she was promised to his King, Lily was sure he'd feel obligated to leave her. She didn't think James would actually force her to go to his King, but she was sure he'd not allow this connection to continue. There would be no horseback rides or archery lessons or hiding in plain sight. If James knew who she was, Lily would never see him again.

"He sounds like a good King," Lily sighed, "and I can tell you think highly of him. Let me think about all this, alright?"

James looked disappointed but nodded.

Then a thought occurred to her, "James, how old is your King?"

James didn't look at her, instead, he stared into the fire burning in their small stove.

"He's nineteen."

Lily sighed and looked back at Marlene in time to watch her laugh at something Sirius said. She wished this could all be different. That her sister would have let her meet the King of Godric's Hollow first, and have a say in whether or not she married him. From how James talked, he didn't sound horrible. But then she wouldn't have met James, and that thought made her heartache.

Lily swallowed hard at how trapped she still felt and closed her eyes. Why couldn't they all just hideaway? Maybe sail across the ocean to a faraway country, change their names, set up new lives, but Lily didn't think James would go for anything like that. He talked about Godric's Hollow like it was his very own.

She'd never get him to leave it all behind.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back with 4 chapters! See you again on December 13th.

**Sirius:**

"You're sure?" He asked for probably the tenth time.

"I'll hex you if you ask me that again." Marlene quipped, but he didn't miss the smile that pulled on her lips. "I'm much better off now and we need to get moving."

"Yes, screaming at me seemed to help you immensely." He smirked at her as she packed.

Marlene responded by throwing one of her shirts at him instead of into her pack.

Sirius chuckled and brought the shirt back to her, dropping it in her pack.

"So," Marlene bit her lip, "about what the attackers said. We don't know who they thought we were…"

"Obviously they were wrong about it," Sirius cut her off. He'd been prepared for this, her explanation as to who they were or weren't. "You wouldn't have kept traveling with us if Lily were the princess they thought she was."

Marlene frowned, and Sirius held his breath. He needed her to believe it was enough because they were teetering dangerously close to divulging more information than he was certain she would be comfortable with.

"Right," she said slowly, "so we're just going to not touch this?"

"It's really not imperative to us traveling together." He looked down at her pack. "Whoever is looking for you, or for us, and why doesn't matter when all we're doing is traveling together." Sirius held his breath.

Marlene looked over at Lily and James as they spoke quietly at the table. "You're right. Details aren't important. The reasons are messy and will get in the way. We have our agreement, and that's all that matters."

Sirius somehow controlled his sigh of relief from bursting out in a whoosh and smiled. "Couldn't have said it better. We'll leave in the morning then?"

She fingered her wand and smirked, "Are you trying to ask if I'm sure again?"

Sirius chuckled and resisted the aching urge in his chest to reach out and pull her closer. "Of course not, I'm asking if you'd rather leave in the morning compared to midnight or around noon?"

Marlene grinned "Then yes, we'll leave in the morning after one of your superb breakfasts."

"Superb, eh," Sirius couldn't help himself and stepped closer. "If you think what I make on traveling rations is superb, then I'll have to show you what I can do in a fully stocked kitchen."

Their proximity was the best kind of torture. Marlene was the spark to his kindling and he was finding himself addicted to watching the way they burned depending on the kindling he brought to her. Sometimes they burned warm with laughter and joy, like on the creek bank when they had the water fight. Other times they burned in a terrifying blaze, screaming and nearly throwing themselves at each other, like when he pointed out there were some holes in her training. They burned, and the feeling of their flames against his heart left him wanting more. Just as he couldn't keep from continually putting his hand near the flames as a boy, he couldn't stop setting fire between them, coming closer and closer to the heat, to the burn.

His need to burn was making it almost impossible to keep space between them. And being this close to her now felt like watching the fuse burning, wondering if it would snuff out or burn through to the end.

Her blue eyes looked up into his face, her lips were parted just slightly as they pulled up at the left. He could see her chest rising after each breath that tickled his neck.

"Perhaps one day," she whispered, "we ought to make time for you to show me."

It would be so easy, to reach out and touch her, to bring his lips to hers, to see what would happen if he lit the fuse and directed her explosion in the best possible way. But easy usually came with hollow highs that faded fast, and in this case, ruining any slim chance that possibly existed for her to forgive him when James finally let them come clean.

Sirius swallowed hard before putting a half step between them. He tried to ignore the gut-wrenching regret that accompanied seeing the way her back went a little straighter and she looked down at her pack.

"I think we should," he tried to plaster a smile on his face. "But in the meantime, let's get these crazy adventurers packing, yeah?"

Marlene gave a small forced sounding chuckle and nodded before moving with him to the table.

"We'll be heading out in the morning," he pulled out his chair as he interrupted James' and Lily's conversation.

"Are you sure, Mar?" Lily frowned, "You've only had two days to work through what happened."

Marlene sighed tiredly, "Lils, I'm fine now, I've had Sirius helping me. What matters is that we're losing time. Autumn isn't far off and I really would rather not travel in the dead of winter, so let's get a move on."

James chuckled, "Ottery is only about 200 miles across, that will only take a bit more than a week."

Marlene's shoulders went rigid before she looked up at Sirius. Her ice-blue eyes bore into his, looking for something, but what he didn't know. Finally, she relaxed and summoned the map from her pack.

"Here," she pointed with her wand, "is where we're going. That's closer to 250 miles since we have to cut North once we get closer to the border."

Sirius tried to keep his face neutral as his mind celebrated that Marlene felt safe enough to show them her's and Lily's destination. That she trusted him that much added to his hope that she wouldn't kill him when she found out who he was, and more specifically who James was.

"That works out well, we live in the capital," he pointed to the map, "and following you up to," he looked at the map, "Enid, puts us right in line to cross over and move on to our home."

"So we're looking at another two weeks or so?" James twisted the map slightly.

"I can move faster," Lily chimed in. "I'm getting stronger."

Sirius nodded, "You are, but don't hurt yourself. We do have time before autumn comes," he chuckled as Marlene rolled her eyes, "so let's not rush and regret having done so."

The table went quiet at his words and he chose the silence to share a long look with James. But rather than looking slightly guilty, or overly confident, as Sirius expected, James looked decidedly unhappy.

He'd need to talk with him and figure out what was going on. The only question being when he'd find a private moment to do so.


	28. Chapter 28

**James:**

It didn't make sense!

James was sure that the more Lily knew about him as "King of Godric's Hollow" the happier she'd be. But in spending the last nine days traveling and telling Lily stories of himself as King, she seemed...sad!

It was mind-boggling!

Every story that James told had been compelling testaments to his character, had shown his desire to be exceptional, and highlighted his love for his fellow countrymen. But no matter how much she laughed as he told the stories, Lily always seemed downcast and depressed afterward.

And try though he might, James couldn't figure out why!

"You're going to pull your hair out." Sirius chuckled as he tossed a rock across their camp.

James pulled his hand from his hair and looked over at the canvas the girls had erected to wash their hair.

"What am I doing wrong?"

"Aside from traipsing across Ottery instead of running your country?"

James glared at Sirius, but his brother seemed intent on tormenting him.

"Because you can't possibly be referring to the obvious fact that you're lying to your future queen and have been since you figured out who she was."

"Do you mind?" James went to kick Sirius but the traitor managed to escape James' hostility.

"Look, James," Sirius bumped his shoulder, "the main thing we're both doing wrong here is lying. It was the biggest difference I saw between Orion and Walburga, and Mum and Dad. Mum and Dad didn't lie to each other. Walburga and Orion constantly lied to each other. But," Sirius sighed heavily, "you're in charge, your Majesty."

James frowned. He didn't like the implications of what Sirius was saying, but try as he might be couldn't see a way around it. All of these problems were because he hadn't been willing to be honest with Lily from the outset.

And if he was honest, it was eating him from the inside out.

"She gets really sad when I tell her stories about me as King of Godric's Hollow." James hung his head.

"I bet. You're playing up the man she's running from."

Sirius threw another rock across the camp.

James groaned. He hated it when Sirius was right.

He went to answer when Lily and Marlene started breaking down the canvas that had served as their bathing room.

He sighed as his chest constricted at the sight of Lily.

She deserved so much more than running across the world, than living in fear of being caught, than him lying to her.

"She'd make a grand queen, James." Sirius' voice brought him back to the present.

Then he stood and moved to help Marlene break down the canvas.

"You two wouldn't suffer from a bath either," Marlene smirked at Sirius.

"Ah, but then you'd be exposed to our true forms and who knows what that would do to you." Sirius quipped and James chuckled.

It was good to see his brother back to his old self, better even.

He caught Lily's eye and she moved to sit next to him where Sirius had been. She moved with the elegance of a born princess, steady and full of grace. She smelled of rose water and the forest around them and James reached for her hand out of instinct.

"You're beautiful," he murmured as he interlaced their fingers.

Lily blushed but smiled, "Thank you."

"Lily," he nervously ran the fingers of his other hand along the back of her hand. "I, I, er, have you, have you thought about us not hiding from each other?"

Lily's smile fell from her face.

"James…"

"Lily, I know you must think that I won't be willing to accept who you really are, or maybe you're worried about who I really am, but I promise I will accept you no matter what the world has decided you are. You're, you're lovely and brave and you're," he paused and looked up from their clasped hands, "you're who I want to be with."

Lily looked at him with tears in her eyes. "James, can't we forget who the world says we are and just be us? Can't we both hide in Enid and be happy?"

James fisted his hand in his hair and looked over at Sirius and Marlene as they laughed about something one of them said.

He envied their laughter.

"I have responsibilities that I have to tend to in Godric's Hollow, Lils. I can't just hide somewhere and desert the people who count on me. I owe them more than that." James closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I can't choose you over them. That's why I'm asking we stop hiding from each other. I don't want to have to choose between you and my responsibilities. I'm honor-bound to choose against you."

Lily squeezed his hand once before letting go of him. James looked up to see her standing.

"I understand, James, and it's alright. It's probably better this way. I almost got you killed once. This way I won't be the cause of any more damage to you or Sirius."

She stepped back as James reached for her and shook her head.

"Please don't make this harder than it already has to be. Another day, another world, and I'd follow you to the front lines. But here, now, you're right. We'll be to Enid in four days and then we'll part as friends."

"Lily, I…"

She stepped back again and cut him off. "Let's not make things weird for Mar and Sirius. We'll be friends, James."

James felt a lump rising in his throat as she stepped back one last time and then turned and disappeared into the tent.

He was startled by Marlene's laughter as she and Sirius approached the tent. As Marlene slipped inside, James grabbed Sirius' arm.

"At Enid," James fisted his hand back into his hair. "We tell them who I am when we reach Enid."

"Is everything alright?" Sirius' brow furrowed as he looked at him.

"She has to know," James felt like his chest was going to collapse, "She has to know or I'm going to lose her."


	29. Chapter 29

**Marlene:**

It was amazing, the way things change.

Marlene felt she had come so far from the day she came out of the fog, and all of that progress was thanks to Sirius. He'd managed to pull her out of the fog and then threw the proverbial book at her, giving her the tools to be able to move forward, to let go, to keep perspective. She still had moments where guilt would overtake her, where she questioned her motives, where she thought she might be losing her ability to think and reason. And when those moments came and threatened to suffocate her, Sirius carried her.

His support made all the difference. It also left her feeling even more attached to Sirius than she had been before.

But Marlene had also come up with the liberating thought that since they were parting ways at Enid she might as well enjoy his company for the last stretch of their journey, right?

She knew she was setting herself up for some form of heartache, but at least this way the heartache would have good memories along with it.

Plus, the man was hilarious, charming, irreverent in the most understated way, and impressively good looking.

So she indulged herself. She'd never get this opportunity again. And thinking about this as the Fates giving her the opportunity at having a small bit of the kind of happiness she'd given up for Lily was freeing. The last thirteen days of traveling with him and letting herself enjoy being with Sirius and letting herself relax had left Marlene feeling light and happier than she'd been in years. She chose to believe these last two weeks were a gift, something she'd be able to look back on and enjoy when life was difficult.

Sirius looked at her a bit differently now too. He smiled at her more. He laughed with her more. He walked and sat and stood closer to her.

So much closer.

Like right now. They were camped a couple of miles outside Enid, reasoning it would be better to go into the city in the morning and ask after the Longbottoms rather than impose upon them at a late hour. She and Sirius had been attending to the wards when Sirius had stepped right next to her.

"It occurs to me that this is the last time I get to watch you set that ward with the wrong wand movement."

Marlene looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh it's no problem," he teased, "I just thought you'd like to know that I've been resetting it every night."

"Have you?" Marlene wasn't sure if he was playing or not, but with how close he was she didn't really care. It made her spine tingle and her heart beat faster.

Sirius smirked, "You don't believe me."

Marlene grinned, "I'm torn, Sirius. You're not stupid, but I definitely don't like being told I'm wrong…"

He stepped closer, "The wand movement ends going up, not left."

Marlene furrowed her brow and thought. She tried to think of her dad's instructions when he'd been teaching her wards. It took a moment, but slowly it came back and she saw Sirius' smirk grow as her realization dawned across her face.

She smacked him across the chest.

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Made me feel useful," he shrugged, "you don't need my help with all this, and being out here to reset that one ward made me feel less like your lap dog."

Marlene watched his smirk morph into an almost shy smile.

"You're much more useful than that," she whispered as he stepped impossibly closer. If she took a deep breath her chest would press against his.

"Marlene," his voice was low and...torn?

Marlene knew it probably wasn't the best idea. She knew she really shouldn't do it. She knew it would likely come back to bite her.

But right now she didn't care about any of that.

Right now she couldn't stop thinking about how hard it was to draw air when he was staring down at her with a storm raging in his gray eyes. Right now she couldn't breathe in at all without her senses being flooded with Sirius. Right now she couldn't focus on anything other than how this man has been everything to her these last few weeks, and she had to let him know.

"Please don't stop me," she whispered and she pushed up on her toes to press her lips to his.

She nearly moaned at how quickly he responded to her kiss. His hands wrapped around her waist and Marlene stepped into him, pressing their bodies completely against each other. She wrapped her arms around his neck to keep her balance as she stood on tiptoe and sighed when he brushed his tongue against her lips. One of his hands moved to her hair as the other wrapped around her back to hold her against him. His lips moved to behind her ear and slowly down her neck. Marlene couldn't pull a full breath if her life depended on it.

His kiss was fire and Marlene wanted it to consume her.

"Marls," her name vibrated against her skin as he spoke and Marlene pulled him closer.

"Marlene," Sirius moved his lips to kiss back up her neck.

Her response was a quiet moan.

And that's when he pulled away.

"Marlene," Sirius kept her pressed against him, "what do you want this to be?"

Marlene sighed as Sirius let reality in like a cold draft through an open window.

"You're leaving us tomorrow," she tried to sort through her emotions, "and I, I thought, I wanted to…"

He smirked at her before kissing her briefly.

"I wanted to," He echoed her rambling, "I desperately wanted to."

"I know this can't be anything," she murmured against him, her eyes hooded as she stole kisses through her words.

"It can be this," he touched his lips behind her ear before kissing down her neck again and smirking at her moan.

"And this," he kissed back up her neck to sear her lips with his.

"And…" he started to pull back but Marlene cut him off.

"This is perfect right now," and she pulled him back down to her, kissing him like he was her only source of oxygen.

"We'll need to go back in soon," Sirius murmured after several moments.

Marlene smiled against him. She wouldn't get this privacy when he left with James tomorrow.

"Thank you, for everything. I wouldn't have made it this far without you."

Sirius chuckled, "You would have been just fine without me. You told me as much, remember?"

Marlene rolled her eyes, "Well I wouldn't have been this happy without you."

"You're most welcome then," Sirius kissed her again. "I've been much happier with you on this journey as well."

"If you're," Marlene pressed her lips back to his, "if you're ever back in Enid, maybe stop by and say hello?"

James' voice sounded from the tent, "I'll grab them, hold on."

Sirius dropped his arms from her and took a large step back just in time for James' head to appear out from the tent.

"You two done setting the wards? Lily and I are thinking of making dinner."

"I'll do it," Sirius shook his head. "I'm not letting our last night together be punctuated with a burnt dinner."

James rolled his eyes and held the tent flap open for them.

Marlene followed Sirius back into the tent and spent the rest of the night wondering how he would have responded if James hadn't intruded on their stolen privacy.


	30. Chapter 30

**Lily:**

They made good time that morning as they broke down camp just before the dawn and began the walk to Enid. Lily did her best to keep a good face, to not let the heartache she felt seep out. She'd learned to do that when her mother died. Petunia became a nightmare anytime Lily showed emotion, and so Lily became very proficient at hiding her emotions and putting on a mask.

"Are you alright?" James' voice was quiet as they walked through the chilled morning air.

Lily blinked as she pulled herself out of her head. "Oh, yes, fine."

James frowned at her, "You don't look alright."

"It's nothing," she shook her head to try and clear the melancholy.

"Lily, I," James ran a hand into his hair, "I want," he huffed. "I want this to be completely different!"

Lily looked down at her feet, "James, there's no point in going over this again."

"What if there was?" He asked quietly. "What if there was a way this could work? What if there was a way for us to be together?"

Lily swallowed the lump that rose high in her throat. "James, why torture ourselves?"

"Just please answer me," James' voice was quiet. "If I found a way for us to be together, would you take it?"

Lily finally looked up from her feet, finding James warm hazel eyes pleading with her.

"In a heartbeat, James."

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it before letting go of her, but his face remained melancholy.

Lily sighed and looked away from James. It didn't matter what she wanted.

It took another hour for them to reach Enid and find their way to the Longbottom's house. James didn't talk to her or look at her for the rest of the journey.

Lily tried to keep a good face on as Marlene walked purposefully to the door of the house they'd been told was the Longbottom's.

"Hello?" A young man with dirty blonde hair opened.

"Is this the Longbottom's?" Marlene asked with a smile.

The man nodded and stepped out, "Yes, and who are you?"

"I'm Marlene McKinnon, Angus McKinnon's daughter."

The man furrowed his brow a moment before recollection dawned across his face.

"Oh, Mum talks about your dad, they were good friends. I'm Frank by the way." He held out his hand and Marlene took it.

"We were hoping to talk a bit with you about some problems in Privet. Would you be willing to listen?"

"Of course," he opened the door for them, "please come in."

Lily forgot how big homes could be, which almost made her laugh since she'd grown up in a palace. She had become so accustomed to their tent after the nearly two months on the road that Frank's home felt enormous by comparison.

"Try to be quiet please," Frank gestured for them to sit down, "my wife is sleeping. She caught some awful chill and she's on the mend but I worry." He looked a bit sheepish and Lily couldn't help but smile.

"We'll be careful," she said quietly, "you're a good husband."

"Well, er, thank you," Frank blushed, "but you wanted to talk about something?"

"Yes," Marlene cut in, "I don't know what if any news had made it this far about Privet, but the King and Queen have declared that all magic users have to leave the country. My father has sent me to try and find a new home for us. We checked in on several places that my father remembered being safe and quiet places, but most of them the people he remembered have moved on, or the places were no longer safe."

"It's plenty safe here," Frank leaned forward. "My mum has gone to help my aunt take care of my uncle, he caught the pox and is having a hard go of it, but she'll be back once he's well. We would be happy to have the McKinnon's here in Enid."

Lily blinked. She really didn't think this would be so easy.

"Would you know of a place we could stay until the rest of my family gets here and we can purchase a home?"

"I'll need to talk to Alice, my wife," Frank looked towards where Lily assumed their bedroom was, "but if it's just you, I don't see why you couldn't stay here."

"It's me and my adopted sister," Marlene placed a hand on Lily's arm. "This is Lily."

"That should be fine, I'll talk to Alice, but it should be fine. Do you gents not need lodging?" Frank turned to James and Sirius.

"No we were just traveling in numbers," Sirius shook his head. "We're heading home to Godric's Hollow."

Frank smiled. "I love Godric's Hollow. It's such a wonderful place. And King James is doing some amazing things, don't you think? I love King Arthur, he's a great monarch, but King James seems like he's got something special."

Lily frowned. Godric's Hollow's King was named James?

"He's definitely trying his best," James gave Frank a sheepish smile.

"We should get going, James," Sirius stood. "It's been a pleasure, Frank."

"We'll see you to the road," Marlene stood and Lily followed her movements robotically, feeling so many emotions at once she thought she might cry.

Her brain was spinning and she needed things to slow down. She needed time to process what she was feeling.

And she needed more than these few seconds she had before she had to say goodbye to James, forever.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post again either the 20th or the 21st, I'm not entirely positive yet. I love Christmas time, even though it cuts into my writing time – and my posting schedule. ;)

**Sirius:**

She was smiling at him again, and Sirius could only smile back. Even though she was probably going to kill him before this was over.

But if he had to go, Merlin, she was the way he wanted to go!

Sirius was struggling to concentrate. He almost burnt dinner the night before. He barely slept, his mind continually wandered back to her. Her lips on his, her breath catching as he kissed her neck, the way it felt to have her body pressed against his, her arms clinging to his neck, her hooded eyes as she whispered against him.

It was all rather ironic, that she was smiling at him now as they left Frank Longbottom's home so James could confess who they really were.

He fought the urge to press her against the wall for one more taste of her lips before she killed him, a dying man's last wish.

A dying man who was smiling like a fool at the woman who was going to kill him.

He almost threw it all away as they walked out the front door and she brushed against him. He turned to look down at her and she stared up at him with fire in her blue eyes. He was losing the battle within himself to not make a display with her.

But Sirius could always count on James to bring him back to reality.

"So, er, I…"

With a great deal of self-control, Sirius looked away from Marlene to see James stuttering.

"James has something he'd like to say," Sirius put a supportive hand on his brother's shoulder. "Right, James?"

James took an audible breath and nodded.

"Right. So, I, I wanted you to know…"

It was a flicker, something you wouldn't notice if you hadn't spent years training to look for people who are trying to harm the one you protect. But it was a flicker Sirius knew.

An attacker under an invisibility charm.

He reacted immediately. Before James could finish his confession, Sirius had sent three stunning spells towards where the flicker had been. Marlene jumped right into the fight. Her first spell stripped the invisibility charms from their attackers and Sirius quickly readjusted his plan when he saw the six men surrounding them.

"It's alright, your Highness," the man closest to Lily grinned. "We're here to get you home."

"You're here on lies from the crown," Lily shot back and fired a spell at him. "If you truly believe I'm the Queen's sister, you'll consider that my command to leave!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow, but neither he nor Marlene lost the opportunity to take advantage of the men's surprise. They simultaneously fired spells at their attackers in that moment. Sirius grinned that both he and Marlene had chosen the mouthpiece. The man that had addressed Lily now lay motionless on the ground. The remaining five immediately went on the offensive, and Sirius threw a shield in front of him and James.

"Get off my property!" Frank came running out from his house, firing spells at the men. Sirius felt a level of comfort knowing they now had equal numbers to their opponents.

The air sizzled with magic as their little army of five fought off the remaining five attackers and Sirius felt the strain of being split in his efforts. James had asked that he protect Lily as well, and Sirius could feel the oath pulling him in both directions. It was exhausting. Each time a spell came close to Lily he felt his blood burn within him, and it would distract him from protecting James, which in turn would cause his blood to burn as a spell would graze his King.

If he made it out of this alive he might just kill James himself. That or lock James and Lily in a tower so he could get a moment's peace.

It happened quickly, as one attacker remained, the man became desperate. The burning of Sirius' blood overtook him as he turned to see the last attacker blindly fire a spell. Its trajectory by chance was at Lily. Marlene wasn't close enough, she'd never get there in time to block the spell. Her blood must have been burning hotter than it ever had before.

He didn't even think it through.

Sirius jumped.

The spell hit him square in the chest as his feet hit the ground.

The pain was immediate and he collapsed under its force. It felt like someone was filleting his skin with dull knives. He couldn't pull breath. His vision was clouding. Sirius quickly realized this might be it. He couldn't bear to face James. He had failed him.

With the last of his strength, Sirius looked up for Marlene. The last image he took in was her rapier sliding through the attacker's chest. She was radiant as her power and skill coursed through her small form, and he smiled as his body gave out.


	32. Chapter 32

**James:**

"Sirius!"

This wasn't happening.

It couldn't be.

But no matter how much his brain cried out that this couldn't be real, James' eyes continued to see his brother motionless on the ground.

The events of the next few moments happened in slow motion for James. Marlene was at Sirius' side. Her wand over his chest as she frantically cast incantations. Then Frank was over Sirius, his wand out as he and Marlene worked to close the gaping wounds covering Sirius' chest. Then a woman with dark brown hair was there, conjuring a litter and helping get Sirius' pack off and his body lifted onto the canvas. Then Lily pulled James along behind the frantic group surrounding his brother.

Every voice seemed slow, their movements seemed slow, the way Sirius' chest continued to remain still was all in slow motion.

"James," Lily pulled his hand, "James, let's get you a chair."

He shook his head, eyes fixed on Sirius' form waiting for his chest to rise.

"James," Lily pulled harder, "You're white as a sheet, please let's get you a chair."

James shook his head again. Her voice seemed very far away, and his vision was beginning to go fuzzy around the edges as he watched.

"James!"

Her voice was a quiet echo as everything went black.

The next thing he remembered was his head aching. Then he realized his head was on something soft, which made no sense. He blinked open his eyes and took in his surroundings. His eyes sought Lily out of habit, and he found her almost immediately.

"Thank, Merlin," she breathed and dropped from her chair to kneel beside him. It was then James realized he was stretched out on a cot. "I thought we were going to lose you both."

James felt his world collapse around him at her words. The tears came hot and his sobs came fast. He couldn't catch his breath and instinctively he curled in on himself.

This was his fault. He lost his parents to age, but this, this was all on him. He'd asked Sirius to help protect Lily, and Sirius took the hit for her. James knew this was his fault, and the guilt of it was going to kill him.

And what did it matter? What good was living if he was alone?

"James," Lily wrapped herself around him. "James, breathe, you have to breathe!"

But he didn't want to breathe. He wanted to die! He wanted this guilt to consume him so he couldn't feel anymore. He wanted to return to the blackness so he'd stop seeing Sirius' still chest. He wanted out!

"Give him this, Lils," he heard Marlene's voice and then a cup pressed against his lips. He drank the foul liquid willingly, and the blackness finally returned.

When he came to for a second time, he realized he'd been moved again. Rather than a cot, he was now on a bed.

So he hadn't died.

Damn.

He took in a shuddering breath before opening his eyes and finding Lily asleep next to him.

Or maybe he had?

Tentatively, he reached out and touched her arm. She felt real. He pinched himself and felt the pull of his skin.

He was almost positive he was alive, except that Lily lay in this bed with him.

She blinked her eyes open and smiled.

"James."

He nodded, not sure he could speak.

"How are you?"

James swallowed, feeling his throat constrict. He shook his head.

"Oh, James," Lily pulled him to her. "It's going to be alright. I promise it'll be alright."

"How," he heard his voice croak as the guilt and grief threatened to overtake him again, "how long have I been asleep?"

"Three days. Marly gave you something that made you sleep. It was like one of the things she gave Sirius."

James felt his heart stop.

Did he dare hope?

Yes.

"Lily," he buried his face in the crook of her neck, bracing for her to say what he feared to be true, "where is my brother?"

Her fingers started combing through his hair and she pressed herself against him. "He's in the Widow Longbottom's room. Alice, that's Frank's wife, she's had a bit of training with healers and between her and Marly and Frank they managed to get him breathing again. He's in really rough shape, James. We're not sure what's next right now."

James pulled back, his heart beating fast in his chest. "Sirius is alive?"

"Yes," Lily said cautiously, "but James, we're not sure if he'll make it or not. The most skilled healer here in Enid said that Marlene knew more to do than he did."

James disentangled himself from Lily's arms. "I need to talk to Frank. I can get the best healer in Godric's Hollow here in a few hours."

"Really?" Lily followed after him as he moved to the door. "But James, message carriers don't even travel that fast."

James realized he hadn't ever managed to tell Lily who he was. But now his perspective had changed. He might lose Lily by her own choosing, but he was near to losing Sirius from James' own stupidity.

"Lily," he stopped with his hand resting on the door handle. "Before the attack, I was going to tell you and Marlene that I'm King James of Godric's Hollow. All those stories I told you, I knew them because I lived them. And I know you're Princess Lily of Privet and I've known since we caught up to you in Diagon. I'm sorry this has to be so sudden, but I have to save Sirius."

James opened the door, noticing that Lily didn't follow him.

He'd have emotions for that later. Right now his brother was dying and James was not going to stand by and let it happen.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it until 2020, my friends! Happy Christmas! Happy New Year! And I'll be back with more stories on January 4th.

**Marlene:**

She was so tired.

Keeping Sirius breathing required hourly doses of the potion she and Alice had put together, and honestly, it was a miracle it was even doing that. The last three days had been spent with Alice brewing and Marlene administering, and at some point, they would probably run out of money to buy ingredients and that would be where Sirius would either breathe on his own or he wouldn't.

They'd done everything they knew to do and had experimented as well. The poor healer Frank had fetched had been in awe at what they'd managed. He wrote down her methods and then offered her a partnership. Marlene had exercised a great deal of self-control in not blasting the man.

Marlene was on her own in this. And she knew that meant it would take a miracle for Sirius to recover.

She took a level of comfort in knowing she'd told him most everything she'd wanted to the night before they entered Enid. Marlene could still feel his hands on her waist, in her hair, pressed against her back as he held her to him, running his lips along her neck. He'd always be it for her, and seeing as she wasn't allowed a happily ever after, she felt lucky to have had those stolen moments that night outside the tent. If he didn't make it, at least he knew in a different life, she'd have given herself to him completely.

But Marlene wished he'd wake up just long enough to tell her why he'd jumped in front of the attack.

Marlene had felt like she was dying through half the fight. She'd read that a guardian's blood would burn when their charge was in mortal danger, but she thought it a symbolic thing. She didn't realize that her blood would literally burn. And as that spell was fired at Lily, Marlene felt her blood burn so hot she was sure she would die.

Until Sirius jumped.

The moment he jumped her blood immediately cooled and she knew the spell would hit Sirius. So she ran for the attacker. His look of surprise as she attacked with steel and not magic was satisfying, and she felt no remorse as her blade slid true.

But what she did feel now, amid her exhaustion, amid her worry about James, who she'd put to sleep in the middle of his panic attack because she needed to focus on Sirius, amid her worry about Lily, who was at James side continually, amid her worry that she and Lily had needed to divulge Lily's identity to Frank and Alice and the local authorities, since not every attacker had been killed in their fight, amid all of that, Marlene felt guilty.

Guilty because Marlene thought that maybe Sirius had jumped in front of Lily to save her.

Marlene was trying to push that all away when the door opened and James came striding purposefully into the room, Frank hot on his heels.

"First," James came to stand by Sirius, "Thank you for saving my brother."

Marlene shook her head, "James…"

He held up his hand. "I know, Lily told me, but what I had been intending to tell you before we were attacked is that I am King James of Godric's Hollow, Sirius is my guardian and adopted brother, and we've known since we caught up to you in Diagon that Lily is Princess Lily of Privet. And what that does for us now is allow me to get the best healer in Godric's Hollow here, but I need to go speak to whoever is in charge in Enid."

Marlene blinked.

There were a great many things she wanted to say, and do, to James at that moment, but she held her tongue for the possibility that they could save Sirius.

"If you're lying and Sirius dies or Lily gets hurt in this process, I will kill you."

James huffed. "This isn't the time for that Marlene! My brother is dying! I'll be back in a little bit."

"I'm not letting you leave the wards by yourself," she stood, "so if you need to leave, you'll need to convince Frank to take over giving Sirius his potion and keeping Lily safe within my wards."

"Oh it's no bother Marlene," Frank came and stood next to the chair Marlene had sat in, "I'm happy to help out his Majesty."

Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Alright James," she glanced down at Sirius once more, hoping against hope this could work, "let's see how fast you can get your amazing healer here."

James glared at her before turning on his heels and striding towards the front door. As they walked up the path to the road, Marlene added to her heavy wards. She knew she was responsible for both James and Lily right now, but she wasn't capable of splitting herself in two, and she was positive that Lily wouldn't want to be around this manipulating boy king, so she had to make do.

"What's your plan?" Marlene holstered her wand. "Just walk up and announce yourself?"

"You're as bad as Sirius," James shot back and picked up his pace, making Marlene nearly run to keep up.

"Do you have a plan?"

"Yes, but forgive me for not shouting it to the entire city of Enid," he glared down at her and Marlene rolled her eyes.

She had so many questions but she wasn't allowing herself to think about them. If there was even a chance that they could save Sirius she was going to take it.


	34. Chapter 34

**Lily:**

The door swung closed on its hinges behind him with a finality that echoed in her brain.

James.

James was King of Godric's Hollow.

James was her betrothed husband.

James was the man she'd been running from all this time.

James had known who she was.

James knew she was running from him.

James had been lying about that to her for nearly two months!

Lily had trusted him!

She had felt guilty for putting him in the way of danger thinking he wasn't fully aware of it! She berated herself for selfishly keeping him and Sirius with her! Her guilt had threatened to consume her over it! Knowing Sirius was going to die because she insisted their group keep traveling together was killing her! James' grief over his brother had brought her to her knees! She'd cried like a broken child on James' bed for the last three days while he slept!

And all this time James had been completely aware that he and Sirius were traveling with a runaway princess! The runaway princess he agreed to marry having never met her!

She felt sick.

Lily clutched her stomach and her chest felt like it was imploding. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to hit James across the face with all the force her strong arm could muster.

But all she could do was crumple to the floor as her body caved under the betrayal she felt.

How could he have done this!? She had trusted him! She had thought him her friend! She asked him to run away with her!

Had he spent all this time simply trying to win her over so she'd come willingly to Godric's Hollow? Had he been on his way to fetch her that night in Knockturn? Had he made it to the palace only to have Petunia show him a picture and then he hightailed back to collect what was rightfully his? Were his stories even real? Had he carefully crafted these lovely stories to win her over? Was this just a game to him? If Sirius didn't lay dying in this house she'd question if the attack had been orchestrated by James as well.

Her questions only managed to confuse her more as her heart cried out that it couldn't be true. He said he wanted to run away with her, but couldn't. He held her when she cried. He reached for her constantly. He did everything he could to make her smile.

He couldn't be awful.

But her brain couldn't come to terms that he'd been lying to her for this long.

_He wasn't lying now_, her heart whispered quietly.

Lily had never let herself call what she felt for James love because if she really loved him she'd have to be honest with him. She couldn't be honest with him and so she couldn't love him.

But he'd intended to be honest with her before the attack. He'd intended to tell her as he was leaving for Godric's Hollow.

"Lily!"

Lily felt Alice's arms wrap around her.

"Lily, are you hurt? What's wrong?"

Lily tried to put words together, "He's, he's the, he's who…"

"Who, Lily?" Alice pleaded.

"James," his name felt bitter on her tongue and that's when the sobs started.

"He's fine, Lily," Alice soothed, "he took Marlene to get a better healer for Sirius."

Lily only sobbed harder.

"Lily, please, you can talk to me." Alice's voice was calm, steady.

Something about her steady, sure voice broke Lily all the more. And in stuttered and halted sobs, Lily told this beautiful, kind woman everything.

She told her how Petunia had not only kicked out magic users but also promised her to the King of Godric's Hollow. Lily told her how at the time she couldn't believe the King was anything but terrible and so that same night she ran away. She told Alice about running into James and Sirius. That they had been so careful not to reveal who they were at that point, and then they had caught up to her and Marlene in Diagon and convinced them to travel together. Lily told Alice about the men who attacked them in Diagon, and her desperate desire to keep traveling with James and Sirius. And then today, James declared he was the man she was supposed to be sent away to marry, and not only that, he knew who she was, that she was promised to him.

"Oh, Lily," Alice held her close as she cried.

Lily clung to her new friend. She wished Alice would have some grand wisdom to impart to her, something that would put this mess back into perspective and make everything clear again, but the woman wasn't much older than Lily herself. So Lily simply accepted that in this chaos that had enveloped her current situation, at least she wasn't alone, at least she wasn't crumpled on the floor sobbing with no one the wiser to her pain.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Here's to a year full of growth and joy for all of us! I'll have another two chapters for you on January 11th!

**Remus:**

He was going to kill James.

The man was too smart for his own good. Remus could still feel his pulse rise from the memory of waking up to James' note.

_Just a quick jaunt over Knockturn to Privet so I can see what was going on, Rems. Shouldn't be more than a week, Rems. I took Sirius with me, Rems. You and Pete will be fine, Rems._

If they hadn't just thwarted a coup d'etat Remus would have sent the army after James.

But the week became nearly three before Remus received word from James and Sirius. That letter had been cryptic, but it also explained why Privet had stopped answering messages. Princess Lily was on the run, unbeknownst to her, with the King of Godric's Hollow.

It had been almost two months now, two months of Remus and Peter running interference. Remus was one of James' personal advisors and his Healer, so when he said the King was indisposed, the court bought it. But he was running out of excuses and they'd run out of James' pre-stamped and signed stationery.

Then this morning came a royal messenger. Ottery and Hogsmeade and Godric's Hollow had a method of communication for emergencies only. It was particularly dangerous and problematic because it was not well tested and had killed more than one of the messengers, but there were members of each kingdom trained to disappear and reappear in specific places. One of Arthur's men showed up at the palace gate, thankfully whole, with James' scratched out message telling them Remus needed to come to Enid immediately and save Sirius.

Remus angled his Griffin down as Enid came in sight.

A petite blonde woman waved her rapier up at him and Remus brought his Griffin to land next to her.

"Are you Remus?" She still held her rapier in hand and Remus felt he definitely didn't want to be on her wrong side.

"Yes, where's Sirius?"

"This way," she turned and moved him toward a large home that was heavily warded.

At least Remus could feel secure that he wouldn't be interrupted.

"I'm Marlene McKinnon, Princess Lily's guardian.

Remus blinked, apparently things had changed from the only letter he'd received.

"I'm Remus Lupin, his Majesty's advisor and Healer."

"I've been overseeing, Sirius' care, we've had to experiment a bit but I've managed to keep him breathing."

"If we can get him fully recovered I'll get you a medal." Remus wanted to scream in frustration. "Where is James?"

Marlene's blue eyes grew hard at the mention of James. "He's in the room we're keeping Sirius in."

Remus frowned but decided it wasn't worth digging into this woman's anger when he had a friend to save.

"What have you given Sirius?" He asked as they moved through the house.

Marlene began a detailed analysis of Sirius' wounds, what she and the owners of the home had done to stabilize him, and how they had managed to keep him breathing these past three days.

"Remus!" James jumped up as they entered the bedroom Sirius lay in.

"Don't Remus me," he glared at his King. "You've spent the last two months galavanting about the world while Peter and I try to keep a lid on your disappearance and now I find out you've almost killed Sirius in this mess too!"

"You didn't know he was leaving?" Marlene's mouth was agape and she looked back and forth between James and him.

Remus ran a tired hand over his face. He'd said too much in his anger, but a part of him didn't care.

"There'll be time for explanations later. Right now we need to worry about Sirius."

His friend looked like hell. But as Remus examined him, he was beyond impressed. Sirius should have been dead, but this small blonde woman had cheated Death out of his soul and Remus knew he could bring Sirius back now.

Just not here.

"There's nothing for it, I have to get him back to the palace." Remus moved as Marlene administered another dose of the potion.

"I figured as much," she sighed and handed James the empty cup.

Remus watched as James took the cup without argument and left to clean it.

"What injuries did the Princess sustain?" Remus gathered the few instruments he brought into his bag.

"None that your tools will heal," Marlene shook her head and gingerly brushed Sirius' hair from his face.

Remus frowned, "I assumed that since I hadn't seen her she was also wounded in the attack…"

"No," Marlene looked a bit longer at Sirius before turning to face him.

"We were not aware that James was the King of Godric's Hollow until this morning, nor did we know that he knew who we were. I'm sure you can understand that the Princess feels James' betrayal keenly."

Remus looked past Marlene to where Sirius lay. "Of course, I'll, I'll speak to James, I'm sure we can come up with something."

Marlene looked back at Sirius and Remus raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing.

"Thank you, Remus. Do you feel confident taking on James' safety until another guardian can be assigned? Sirius and I had compacted to share the responsibility on this trip. I am currently James' guardian."

Remus' felt like she'd pulled the air out of him. Sirius did _not_ share the responsibility of protecting James, not with anyone.

"You're, er," he forced himself to breathe, "you're quite sure of that?"

Marlene turned toward him with a furrowed brow, "Of course I'm sure; if you'd like to test it throw a knife at your sovereign."

Remus cleared his throat, "No, I don't think I'll do that. I'll take you at your word. I," he swallowed, "what do I need to do?"

Marlene's face softened and she chuckled, "Don't worry, you won't be a guardian like Sirius or me. I'll still be held to the oath if something happens to him. I'm just asking you to be careful and get someone else assigned to him once you're home."

"So if someone were to kill James on this trip…"

"Then theoretically, I would perish as well." She looked back at Sirius. "Seems fair though, Sirius took the spell that hit him protecting Lily."

Remus blinked.

Guardians creeped him out sometimes. They willingly accepted their own death but fought tooth and nail to keep everyone else alive. He wondered if the magic of the oath they took scrambled their brains a bit.

"I'll get someone assigned to James the moment we get to the palace, Marlene, and I'll do my absolute best to keep him safe while we fly."

Then he paused, "Wait, Sirius took the spell protecting Lily?"

Marlene didn't look up at him, and her voice was barely a whisper. "I failed. He stepped in and saved her when I couldn't. He saved us both."

Remus couldn't make sense of what was going on. Sirius wouldn't ever share James. Sirius wouldn't sacrifice himself for anyone but James. And yet Sirius lay dying apparently having done both of those things.

"May I ask a favor, Remus?"

Marlene's voice pulled him back from his racing mind.

"Of course."

"Send me word, about Sirius," she stood and squeezed Sirius' hand once before stepping away.

"I promise," Remus looked at this small woman and wondered what she had done to win Sirius' trust, and how Sirius had won hers.


	36. Chapter 36

**James:**

"Lily, can I please come in?"

James was met with silence as he stared at the closed door.

He swallowed hard. They couldn't leave it like this.

"Lily, I'm sure you're upset with me, and you should be. Can I explain, please?"

Her continued silence made his chest ache twice as much as it already did.

"Lily, I fell for you the moment I saw you. I had traveled to Privet to figure out what was going on, but from the moment I saw you I didn't care anymore. All I wanted was to be with you. Then we saw your picture and it just seemed fated. I was sure that you'd run from me if you knew who I was, so I lied. But Lily I've been trying to figure out how to come clean with you since we crossed into Ottery."

James fisted his hand in his hair as Lily continued to be silent on the other side of the door.

"James," Marlene's soft voice sounded behind him and he turned, "Remus is ready. Do try to be careful."

James looked back at the closed door.

"I'm sorry, Lily."

He sighed and went to turn before stopping and turning back and taking a step closer to the door.

"I love you."

He turned to see Marlene looking at him with an expression he couldn't name.

"Thank you for saving Sirius, and me, and just, thank you."

"You're welcome," she nodded but her expression remained unchanged, "be safe."

James gave the door one last longing look before walking away.

Sirius' litter was attached to the Griffin and Remus was watching it with apprehension all over his face.

"Am I driving or holding Sirius still?"

Remus frowned, "I'm driving, you're taking responsibility for your actions." He jumped up on the Griffin, "Don't let him move, James."

James nodded and pulled his wand before climbing on and facing backward. The beast's wings flapped twice as it jumped and then they were flying.

It took a great deal of effort, but James managed to keep Sirius stable as they flew. The flight had taken Remus just under two hours, but it was taking them closer to four. Every hour they had to stop and dose Sirius with the potion, and if Remus went too fast it was impossible for James to keep Sirius still. But they managed it before the sunset, landing under an invisibility charm in one of the palace's private gardens.

"Merlin, James what did you do?" Peter looked down at Sirius with wide eyes as Remus lifted the charm.

"Can we please talk about how much I've screwed up after Remus has Sirius back on his feet again?" James shot back.

He felt like his world was collapsing around him, and there was no one to help hold it up with him.

"Pete, go grab Elias," Remus levitated Sirius inside slowly.

"Why do you need Dad's old guardian?" James frowned.

"You need a guardian, because right now, if something were to happen to you, Marlene might drop dead."

James shook his head as he followed him, "Sirius is my guardian, not Marlene."

"She told me that Sirius and she had compacted to share the load while the four of you were traveling. When Sirius went down, you went under her protection." Remus paused to gingerly move Sirius onto his bed. "I promised to relieve her of that responsibility as soon as I could."

James blinked.

Sirius didn't share his guardianship.

"James if your father were still alive he'd turn you over his knee!" Elias came crashing in with Peter in his wake.

"Hi Elias," James sighed and turned to his late father's guardian.

"What in Merlin's name were you doing that you almost got Sirius killed?"

"Can we please go over that when I don't feel lower than dirt?" James fisted a hand in his hair. "I'm well aware that I've made a fool of myself! I know I've made a mess of more than any of you prats are aware of! So just let me sort through how I'm going to fix all this, alright?!"

James tried to breathe deeply, to calm the panic bubbling up inside of him.

"Elias," Remus spoke after a few moments, "is there anything you need to do to formally take over James' guardianship? Sirius compacted with another guardian to protect each other's charges and so James is under her care right now."

Elias frowned, "Sirius doesn't share James."

Remus shrugged, "That's what I said, but the woman invited me to test it. I took that as a fair indication she wasn't joking."

"Just to be safe then," Elias looked down at Sirius with pursed lips a moment before turning to face James. "Until such time that your guardian recovers, I accept full responsibility for your protection and physical well being. I stand in his stead, and die in your place."

James sighed, "You didn't have to be so formal about it."

Elias shook his head, "I don't want to find out that some poor woman dropped dead because I didn't make my intentions clear. Now, your Majesty, your court would love to see you alive and well. Poor Remus and Peter have been lying through their teeth to everyone."

"What about Sirius?" James shook his head.

"We'll tell everyone he caught whatever sickness you had shortly after you came down with it, but should hopefully be better soon. It makes sense that I'd take over for him in any case. Let's get you bathed and dressed in time to sup with the court.." Elias moved into James' room and started preparing his royal robes.

"But…"

"James," Peter put a hand on his arm, "your country needs you too."

James groaned. He was being pulled in two directions and he felt like his brain was going to implode from it. But Peter was right. He'd abandoned his kingdom for close to two months. His responsibilities were here, and he was honor-bound to uphold them.

No matter how much he wanted to sit at Sirius' bedside until he woke up.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you back on January 18th.

**Marlene:**

Life was very quiet now. It had been two weeks since she'd watched Sirius carried away by Remus' Griffin. Two weeks since she wrote a novel of a letter to her father because she needed some sort of distraction. Two weeks of waiting for news on Sirius and word from her family.

The two weeks weren't without news entirely. Frank let them know that he spoke with Sheriff MacDonald and found out the record of the attack stated that Lily was merely a look-alike, and an old friend of the Longbottom's, who had been unfortunately targeted. As far as Enid was concerned, there was no princess in their city.

That had helped Marlene breathe a bit easier.

Still, it was quiet, calm even, and Marlene didn't know how to handle it. She'd spent the last two months on edge, seeing things behind trees and around corners that might jump out and attack. And while she still took her responsibility as Lily's guardian seriously, she started to feel the way she had back when they first moved into Privet's palace together. Like her role was more to scare off the thought of attacking Lily, and not actually having to defend her person on an hourly basis.

"Marlene," Alice's voice was sing-song as she entered the kitchen where Marlene had been cleaning, "there's a message carrier outside for you."

Marlene didn't bother to try and look composed. She bolted for her purse and then the door.

She paid for the message and package that came with it before retreating to the bedroom she shared with Lily.

"What is it?" Lily looked up from her stitching.

"A message from Privet," Marlene couldn't help but feel giddy. She hadn't heard from her parents and sister since they left.

"Well, get on with it!" Lily cried with a laugh.

Marlene opened the letter and began to read.

_"Our darling daughters,_

_We're pleased to know you're safe and well. These weeks without word from you have been distressing._

_We are safe. There are several members of the royal court who are friends and they've managed to keep us from any unfair treatment from our Queen and King._

_We won't be coming to join you right away. Together with the other magic users, we have come up with a plan. We assume the King and Queen are unaware of how infertile our homeland's soil is. Many magic users make their professions adding nutrients to the soil by wand work and other magical methods. As magic is no longer allowed in the kingdom, the soil will not be capable of growing crops come spring. And while our monarchy may be ignorant of this, our population is not. It is not the magic users who are screaming at the palace gates, but the non-magical folks. We're going to remain and do our best to support and help those around us as we force Queen Petunia's hand._

_The package contains our help to assist you in finding a place to stay until you can find work to sustain yourselves._

_We love you and will write again soon._

_Your loving parents."_

Marlene opened the box and found several old buttons. She smiled at her mother's old trick. A touch of her wand and a whispered spell later and the box was full to brimming with coins.

"What now," Lily frowned.

"I suppose we find a way to make an honest living," Marlene grinned at her. "No more living off the charity of others...or their taxes."

Lily sighed, "I'm not poor at sewing. I suppose we could go into the seamstress business."

Lily's frown had been stuck on her face since James betrayal, and none of Marlene's lightheartedness could pull a smile from her.

Marlene reached for Lily. "It'll stop hurting with time."

Lily shook her head, "I just wish it had happened differently. I probably wouldn't have run if I'd been able to meet James first."

"He said he loved you. He said it when he left - in front of me, even."

Marlene hadn't been sure what Lily had heard on the other side of the door and Lily had already shut this conversation down a couple of dozen times. Marlene figured she'd better run with Lily's sudden willingness to talk.

Lily wrung her hands in her lap. "I heard him."

"Do you love him back?"

"I thought I did, but after all of this, I'm not sure." Lily sighed and picked up her stitching. "You don't seem as upset as I am."

Marlene chuckled, "James wasn't trying to woo me."

Lily rolled her eyes, "But Sirius lied to you as well."

Marlene nodded, "He did, and I'm choosing to believe it was at James' royal command."

"And that excuses it?" Lily's voice went shrill.

"No," Marlene sighed, "Lily, there was a lot that happened between Sirius and me as guardians. We gained a level of trust that I don't think he would have been willing to give if he hadn't been genuine."

"You're supposed to be mad with me," Lily pouted.

"Oh I'm livid with James," Marlene smiled at her. "But," she sighed and looked out their small window, willing her tears to remain unshed, "Sirius might not even be alive right now, Lils. It seems pointless to be mad at him for following his sovereign's command."

Lily was quiet and Marlene chose to focus all her attention on the coins in the box, attempting to estimate exactly how much her parents had sent them.

"Do you love him?"

Lily's question threatened to be her undoing.

"That is of no consequence, your Highness." She picked up the box of coins and left to go see how much of it she could convince Alice to take as payment for their room and board.


	38. Chapter 38

**Lily:**

If Lily could go back, if she could do this over again, she would have never left. She would have let Petunia send her to Godric's Hollow. She would have let her love story have a chance at a happy ending.

Because now it was a love story that ended with both of them miserable and alone.

Well, she was miserable, he might be just fine.

But Lily's heart screamed that he had to be as unhappy as her. Her heart tormented her with the image of his broken countenance after the first attack. His pleading voice that they stop hiding from each other when she'd managed to reunite them all. His shaking voice as he went to confess who he was to her and Marlene before the second attack. The brokenness she heard in his parting words.

_I love you_.

Add to all of this that Lily was now certain that Marlene was at least romantically fond of Sirius, and all Lily could think of was if she could, she would go back and chain herself to Privet until Petunia sent her to Godric's Hollow.

Lily looked at the letter they'd just read from Angus and Elspeth and sighed.

Why hadn't she listened to them?

Because she had been so certain she was right. Lily couldn't imagine being wrong at that moment. Everything she saw could only point to one conclusion, but she'd been dead wrong.

Not only was James not a magic hating bigot, but he was also impossibly kind and incredibly loyal to his countrymen.

For a moment she imagined what would have happened if she'd gone into the arrangement with an open mind, not letting Petunia's wishes for her future cloud her vision. She would have traveled with Marlene to Godric's Hollow with probably fifty to one-hundred soldiers. She would have met James dressed in her finest gown, tiara in place. She probably would have been given her own rooms for her and Marlene to live in until the wedding. Sirius and Marlene would have let them have more than the five minutes it took to set the wards to themselves because they were safe inside James' palace. She imagined James telling her his stories, introducing her to the staff that he knew by their first names, trying to learn about her, asking for archery lessons, all of the best parts of the last two months, but in a scenario where it ended with their happily ever after and not this tragedy.

But the image only depressed her further. It only made the last words he spoke to her slice deeper. She needed time to process everything, but he had run out of time, and she lost her chance at coming back to him.

And it killed her.

The tears were old friends now as she curled into herself. The tears managed to deepen her anguish as her mind would always wander back to the security she felt in James' embrace when she had finally broken down after their first attack.

"Oh, Lil's," Marlene walked back into the room and moved quickly to her side. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's not you," Lily cried, "I've lost him, Mar. I could have been happy but in my stubborn stupidity I've thrown it all away."

"He lied to you, Lils, you have every right to put some space between you." Marlene's voice was hard.

"Marly," Lily looked out the window, "he'd spent the last two weeks of our journey trying to convince me to let him tell me who he was, and me to tell him who I was. He was trying to fix things long before we were attacked here in Enid."

Marlene didn't immediately respond, but she kept her arms wrapped tightly around Lily's shoulders.

"You still love him," Marlene's words weren't a question.

Lily covered her face with her hands. "And I've lost him."

Marlene sighed, "I'm sorry, Lils."

Lily cried in her sister's arms, the pain chasaming in her chest like a bottomless pit of misery and despair.

She wondered if James was just as crushed as she was. If he cried over losing her the way he had cried when he thought he lost his brother. If the day to day of running a kingdom was enough of a distraction for him, because her current day to day most certainly wasn't. She wondered if the last two months were as riddled with regrets for him as they were for her. If he wished to go back and change his decisions the way she wished to go back and change her own. She wished she could go back and not hurt him and not hurt Marlene and not hurt Sirius.

But James only had one regret.

_My one regret is that I can't be completely honest with you._

James' voice echoed in her mind, zeroing in on the night after the first attack.

_I've made decisions that have hurt those closest to me. One of them led to Sirius killing seven men I trusted and thought supported me even when my friends warned me against them. But like I told you before, I try to learn from those situations, to be better because of them, and I know you can too._

His words seemed to bring her up short. James wasn't wallowing in his misery. James was figuring out how to become better, how to fix his situation, he was acting.

And she needed to act too.

Lily wasn't going to sit by anymore.

Lily was going to act.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you back on January 27th.

**Sirius:**

Consciousness was excruciating.

Sirius groaned and willed himself to dive back into the black oblivion he'd surfaced from.

"Should I get James?"

He must have been dreaming, that sounded just like Pete.

"Let's wait till he's talking. James is busy enough as it is to add running back here every time Sirius so much as shifts."

He wanted to keep under the assumption he was dreaming, but the sound of both Pete and Rems told Sirius things had either gone really well after he blacked out, or they'd gone horribly wrong.

And Sirius' brain wouldn't let him sleep till he knew.

"Who's with James," Sirius kept his eyes closed.

"No surprise that's his first question," Pete's voice was exasperated.

"Elias is, Sirius," Remus answered in his 'Head Healer' voice - patronizing and annoyingly omniscient. "Does anything hurt more than any particular thing?"

Sirius groaned. James had screwed up.

"Get James."

"Sure," Remus' awful voice sounded smug, "as soon as you answer my question."

Remus could be a right pain.

"Everything hurts, Mister Healer, sir, and I'd like it very much if you'd put me out of my misery."

Remus sighed, "Pete, please let James know Sirius is fine and insulting as ever."

Pete chuckled, and Sirius heard him leave.

"I need you to take this," Sirius felt Remus press a cup to his lips.

The liquid was foul and Sirius almost spat it back out.

"What in the devil was that," Sirius coughed and finally opened his eyes to glare at Remus.

"Your last dose of the potion that kept you alive these last two weeks."

Sirius blinked, "Two weeks?"

"Marlene and Mrs. Longbottom put it together to keep you breathing. But now that you're conscious, I feel confident that you can keep it up on your own."

"Then why give me that last dose?" Sirius tried to pull the taste out of his mouth.

"It was a good segway," Remus' tone made Sirius pause.

"A segway to what?"

"To asking whether or not Marlene was lying when she told me that the two of you were sharing the responsibility of protecting James and Lily."

Sirius pushed his head back into the pillow and closed his eyes. "She wasn't lying."

Remus was quiet, waiting for Sirius to explain.

He'd wait to his grave.

"Sirius!" James' voice rang out like church bells - loud and ear-splitting.

"What did you do?" Sirius opened his eyes. "Why aren't they here?"

James fisted his hand in his hair. "I have a plan to fix it. And now that you're awake I can start it. I just needed a reason to send a messenger back to Enid. What better reason than to assure them you haven't died?"

Sirius swore. "They think I'm dead?"

"I assured Marlene that I would do everything in my power to get you back on your feet." Remus interrupted, "I just needed access to my stores to take care of you. We moved you three days after your attack."

Remus went to say something before glancing at Elias, apparently thinking better of it.

Sirius smiled at his mentor. "Thanks, old friend, I appreciate you looking after this windbag while I couldn't."

"We're a tight group, Sirius, we step in for each other." Elias shrugged.

Sirius looked around the room. "Could I have a private word with his Majesty, here?"

"Sirius…" Remus started.

"Of course," James cut him off and turned to the three other men in the room. "You can wait in the sitting room, I'll be right out."

They grumbled a bit, but James was good at throwing around his rank when it came to his brother.

Sirius rather enjoyed that perk.

"James, what happened?" Sirius asked after he watched the door shut.

"Marlene put me to sleep for three days after the attack." James shrugged.

"Why?" Sirius stared him down.

James groaned, "Because I thought you had died and my grief overtook me, alright? When I came to and found out you weren't dead I told Lily what I had been meaning to tell her before we were attacked, told Marlene too, and then went and got an emergency messenger. We were back home before the day was out."

"Without Lily and Marlene," Sirius groaned.

"I'm working on fixing that! I'll send the messenger just as soon as we're done here."

Sirius took in a deep and quite painful breath.

"James, do me a favor and get her back. Remember that boon you asked of me after the first attack, you intertwined Lily into my oath with it."

"Wait, so if something happens to Lily…"

"Yes," Sirius cut him off. "Now please start your plan to get her back, and do me a favor and don't fail."

James swore. "Why did you agree to it then?"

"I'm a bit of a loyal prat when it comes to you, James." Sirius took in another deep breath and found it less painful than the first one had been.

There were other reasons he'd done it, none of which he was willing to discuss with anyone who was in his current vicinity.

"You have my word, Sirius, I'll have her here as soon as I can." James stood and nearly ran out the door.

Sirius closed his eyes again and tried to get control of his anger and disappointment.

It should have been Marlene protecting James and Lily right now. It should have been the three of them coming in when James was summoned.

He should have seen her today.

An unbidden smile crossed his lips as his mind brought forward his last memory before he blacked out. It was still clear, her rapier in hand, her golden curls plaited back, her blue eyes burning with vengeance, her small form strong and powerful, she was everything he'd ever considered beautiful and captivating.

And unless James pulled off a miracle, Sirius may never see her again.


	40. Chapter 40

**James:**

"What do you mean they weren't there!?"

The messenger in front of James wrung his hands.

"I went to the home of Frank and Alice Longbottom, just as you specified, your Majesty. Mr. Longbottom informed me that the women you wished to contact had moved on to another place. When I asked where they'd gone he smiled and told me that you would know. I searched the whole city of Enid for them to no avail! I only have that information to deliver!"

James slammed his fist down on his desk.

"You're free to go," he dismissed the messenger, Kalis if he remembered right - James had been gone too long - before looking out the window and fisting a hand in his hair.

Where in the world would they have gone? Enid had been their final destination! And Marlene had asked Remus to send word! Why would they have left before they knew whether Sirius was alright? And why in the world would Frank tell the messenger that James would know where they went?! It was maddening!

James swore and looked down at the unopened letter he'd written and Kalis had handed back to him. A large part of him wanted to throw the letter in the fire.

He had been so certain that this would work!

So certain, that he had come up with no backup plan.

And now he had to face Sirius.

Splendid.

Sirius was doing much better in the last five days he'd been awake. Remus even thought he'd be ready to start training back up in a few days. Until then, Remus allowed Sirius to walk the palace halls for exercise.

Sirius was not amused, but since Elias had pointed out he would be failing his oath to not fully recover, Sirius wasn't openly complaining about it anymore. Now he complained through his passive-aggressive tendencies.

"Elias," James looked over at his father's old friend and guardian, "let's go find Sirius."

"It's close to dinner," Elias stood from his chair, "Sirius should be close to the kitchens based on how he's handled the last few days."

James nodded and sighed. He knew how Sirius had been since he woke up, but how would Sirius be once he found out James had lost Lily?

True to Elias' word, Sirius was chopping carrots in the kitchens.

"Sirius, we need to talk," James stuck his head through the door frame.

The whole staff bowed quickly and James resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They didn't do this when he was the Crown Prince, but now that he was King it was as though he'd never been a boy before.

Sirius looked down at his task and tsked, "I've got ten more to go."

"I'll take over it Sir," one of the staff members, James was pretty sure his name was Stratton - James was determined to remember everyone's names again - quickly took over Sirius' carrots.

Sirius huffed but followed James and Elias out of the kitchens and back to their rooms.

"The messenger I sent to Enid returned about thirty minutes ago." James sat down in the sitting room and pushed his hand back in his hair.

"It's about time," Sirius slowly lowered himself down to his cushioned chair. "Did Lily write you a small novel?"

James tightened his fist, "Sirius they weren't at Frank's."

James watched Sirius' demeanor shift in that instant. He shot forward before grimacing and glared at James, his grey eyes piercing.

"Did Frank know where they went?"

"He told the messenger I would know where they went."

"Did your messenger search for them in Enid?"

"For three days," James groaned. "They've got at least a three-day lead, if not more. For all we know they left the same day we did."

Sirius shook his head, "Think James, think back on every conversation you had with Lily over those two months we traveled. Where is she? She thinks you'll know."

James pulled hard on his hair, "I don't know! We never talked about exact places until Marlene told us they were heading for Enid!"

Sirius shook his head. "You have to keep thinking, James, she says you'll know. Lily's not an idiot so that means you know. Think!"

James felt like screaming!

They'd never talked about specific cities or towns. They had been so careful to keep their information general, and now James was kicking himself for it - again.

"Let's get dinner in you," Elias stood and moved towards the door to ask the runner to fetch it. "You'll think better once you've eaten and slowed down. You'll get nothing from pulling your hair out."

Elias had been right, James did feel better once they had sat down and eaten dinner. And since he didn't have anything for the evening, James started at the beginning, thinking through in his mind and trying to remember every conversation he'd had with Lily.

He smiled at the conversation that first morning in Knockturn. He'd been so distracted by her it was a miracle he'd managed to have a conversation at all.

He sighed at the memory of tricking her into letting them travel together.

But then the conversations had moved on to sharing stories and being young and falling in love with her as he came to know her better.

He knew he loved her when he thought he lost her at the Ottery border. He was almost grateful that she had needed to cry that night because all he wanted to do was hold her and never let go. Those days, while Marlene recovered, were some of the best days of his life. Lily had been open to him in ways he had never expected, and it felt right - like that was what they were supposed to be.

He chuckled remembering all the times she slipped more information than she meant to over those days. It was endearing how much she wanted to be open with him, and he'd used every slip he could to his advantage. Especially when she said that some of her attackers were bound to come from….

"Sirius!" James jumped up from his chair.

Sirius started from James' outburst but turned from the map he was pouring over. "Do you remember?"

"They're here! They're somewhere in Godric's Hollow!"

Sirius frowned, "Here?"

"Yes!" James moved next to Sirius. "When you were helping Marlene after the attack, Lily told me there were bound to be attackers coming for her out of Godric's Hollow. I knew she was wrong, and so I told her that Godric's Hollow would be the safest place for her to hide! Sirius, they're here! I know they are!"

Sirius rolled up the continent map he'd been looking at and pulled out a map of Godric's Hollow with a small grin.

"So now the question is, where in Godric's Hollow are they?"


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you back on February 1st.

**Marlene:**

Lily was changing, and it was a good change in Marlene's opinion. If they hadn't gone through everything that had happened in the last several weeks, Marlene wouldn't have believed Lily capable of any of this. But here they were.

Alice and Frank had thought Lily's idea superb. And Marlene had to admit, it had style, so Marlene found herself with Lily, in an inn, in the capital of Godric's Hollow.

"I don't know if we have enough to pay for something appropriate for a princess." Marlene looked at what was left of the money her parents had sent.

"I just need a dress, Mar," Lily shook her head. "We're not spending all we have on this. If he tells me to hit the road we have to have something leftover. Let's see if we can find a second-hand peddler or maybe just ask around for someone who might want to sell a dress."

Marlene nodded, "This is your dramatic entrance, I'll let you decide how you want to look." Marlene looked out the small window to their rented room. "I'm still not sure how we're going to get in, though."

"Let's get me a dress first, and then maybe we just try asking at the front gate. Worse case, we get a message carrier and tell James we're here and can't get in." Lily shrugged.

"Doesn't that sort of defeat your grand gesture?" Marlene teased.

Lily rolled her eyes, "I am not trying to make some grand gesture, I'm trying to make it so he and I can work through this and maybe have a happily ever after." Then she smirked at Marlene. "And in the process get my best friend her happily ever after."

Marlene sighed and swallowed the threatening grief, "Sirius might not even be alive, Lily."

"What if he is?"

"Then our oaths forbid us from marrying," Marlene shrugged, keeping an ice wall between her and her emotions on the matter.

Lily grabbed her hand, "If I'd known everything about what you were doing when you became my guardian, I would have never allowed it, Mar."

Marlene squeezed her hand, "I still would have done it, Lils. Your sister was a wild card after she assumed the throne, and we were all scared of what she might do to you. A guardian was the only way to ensure your safety, and I was honored to be the one Dad and the other concerned nobles thought was fit for the task."

Lily shook her head, "You don't get to marry, and you don't get to have a family,"

"I know I gave up a lot to be your guardian," Marlene smiled, "I know that I'm forbidden to marry and that I can't have children, and that I'm pledged to your protection until death, but Lily, I gave it all up because I love you. I want to protect you."

Lily moved to hug her fiercely and Marlene held tight to her best friend, to all she had left.

It was shortly after their conversation that Marlene and Lily hit the streets in search of a dress. Lily was sorting through what a peddler had in their cart when Marlene overheard an intriguing conversation.

"Ruth, darling! How have you been?"

"Well my friend, even though His Majesty is still coming up with busy work for me to do. He doesn't believe that I'll be fine on my own since the Queen Mother's passing."

Marlene tried to casually turn and observe the two women talking. Both were graying, but while one of them looked as though she owned the shop behind her as she swept the front step, the other held herself in the same way Marlene had been trained to.

"You should tell him to get married," the shop owner laughed, "that settled his father down rather quickly. You and Her Majesty showing up back then made quite an impression on all of us here."

Ruth smiled, "I'll be sure to mention it to him."

Marlene watched the women talk a moment longer before they parted ways, and as Ruth walked away, Marlene grabbed Lily and started following.

"What are you doing?" Lily hissed.

"That woman was the late Queen's guardian," Marlene gestured in front of them. "If I tail her long enough she'll confront us and then we might just have our ticket into the castle."

It only took about five minutes of following Ruth like a hound for her to finally choose to confront them.

"I assume you want something?" Her voice was bored, but Marlene saw how she was fully coiled to spring out and strike if necessary.

"On my oath, I mean you no harm," Marlene wanted to put this woman at ease as quickly as possible.

Ruth relaxed slightly, but there was sadness in her voice as she spoke. "My oath has passed, but I accept your offering of peace."

"My name is Marlene and this is Lily, we'd like to speak privately with you. It concerns His Majesty, King James."

Ruth pursed her lips before nodding, "Follow me."

Marlene and Lily walked quickly to keep up with Ruth as she wove through the streets of Godric's Hollow. A nervous part of Marlene realized that Ruth was backtracking at certain points, deliberately trying to make it so they couldn't find their way back easily.

It was working.

Finally, Ruth stopped in front of an old home and led them inside.

"Alright Marlene, what do you want to discuss that involves my King?" Ruth sat down in one of the large chairs and gestured for them to sit as well.

Marlene momentarily thought about commenting on Ruth's desire to confuse them but decided to dive right in instead.

"Ruth, may I present, Her Highness, Princess Lily of Privet."

Ruth bowed her head to Lily and Lily rolled her eyes at Marlene.

"We have a rather long story behind all this, but the short of it is that Lily needs into the palace so she can tell James she loves him back."

"Marly…" Lily protested.

"I'm not wrong," Marlene smirked.

Ruth raised her eyebrows and glanced over at Lily before looking back at Marlene.

"We have time, why don't you give me the long story? On your oath."

Marlene straightened but nodded as she began their tale. It took the better part of the morning to give Ruth the story. But once Marlene and Lily had finished telling her their saga, Marlene knew it had been the right call.

Ruth's face told Marlene that she would do everything in her power to get Lily and James back together.

"I'll take care of a dress for you, your Highness," Ruth stood, "His Majesty had me take some of his mother's dresses when she passed, and I know just the one to put you in. It might need some alterations, she was a bit shorter than you, but I have some ideas."

"When we leave we'll need you to lead us back," Marlene gave Ruth a pointed look. "You did quite well at spinning us around."

Ruth chuckled, "One can never be too careful, but you know that. Let's go grab your things and then move on to my home. We'll get her Highness' dress sorted and then we'll figure something out for you as well."

"This isn't your home?" Marlene frowned.

"Oh heavens no, His Majesty wouldn't hear of it. This is one of the safe houses we have about the city to get the royal family out in a hurry."

Ruth stood and gestured for them to follow her as she moved towards the door.

"I live at the palace."


	42. Chapter 42

**Lily:**

Serendipity didn't come close to explaining what was happening, but Lily had to believe the Fates were just as invested in her figuring things out with James as she was.

It was the only way she could explain sitting in Ruth's rooms in a far wing of James' palace, adding some length to one of his late mother's dresses and altering it more to her own style.

"Are you sure you don't want me to have one of the seamstresses here do all that?" Ruth asked.

"It's helping me calm my nerves, honestly." Lily laughed.

"Do you think you'll be done by tomorrow?" Marlene asked and then shook her head as Ruth held up another dress.

"Yes," Lily chuckled, "but you won't have anything picked out by then."

Marlene winked at her.

"Marlene, you have to wear something presentable." Ruth huffed. "I can't take you to the King's quarters looking like you've been on the road for the last year."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not the princess." Marlene raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not going to wear one of her late Majesty's dresses."

Ruth sighed.

"I forgot how stubborn we are when we're young. My dresses are over here," she opened another wardrobe, "but I don't think they'll fit."

Lily took one look up from her sewing to compare Ruth and Marlene's figures and saw Ruth was right. Ruth was a full head taller than Marlene and Lily really didn't want them to take the time to make Ruth's dress fit Marlene.

"Why don't you do me a favor and promise to keep Lily safe for a bit and I'll see about a dress?"

Ruth eyed Marlene for a long moment.

"I can always go to the King's quarters in my traveling clothes."

Lily bit back her giggle as Ruth huffed.

"Fine, her Highness will be safe while you're rummaging up something barely nicer than what you have on now."

Marlene bowed gracefully, "My thanks."

She was gone for two hours, during which Lily listened to Ruth tell stories about James and his parents and Sirius. It was fun to hear new stories, and some old ones too in true context.

"I tell you, your Highness, the maid staff were quite put out when King Fleamont began sending his son around the country on business. They could no longer get out of their work in exchange for a good story."

Lily laughed, "Ruth, please, call me Lily."

Ruth smiled, "Do you not like your title?"

"I don't mind my title," Lily sighed as she strung her needle again, "but it isn't _me_. I'm Lily, I just happen to also be the daughter of a dead king."

Ruth's grin widened, "You'll do just fine, Lily."

It was then that Marlene slipped in the door, a sac in hand.

"Here," she reached in and handed Lily her tiara from Privet.

"How…" Lily took the tiara with wonder.

"It was an idea I had," Marlene smiled, "if I knew right where something was, I could change its location. I'd been practicing before we left Privet."

"Did you get a dress that way too?" Ruth looked at the sac in Marlene's hand.

"Of course not," Marlene scoffed, "I went back to that peddler and bought a dress from them."

Lily smiled down at the tiara in her hands. She'd look exactly like a princess now.

"Thank you, Marly."

"Anything for you, Lils."


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited for you all to read these two chapters! See you back on February 8th!

**Sirius:**

Sirius poured over the map, trying for the life of him to think of where Marlene would go. He had spent the majority of the night before doing the same thing. When James had burst out that he was certain they were somewhere in the kingdom, Sirius let his heart hope. Hope that they had decided to be closer to James, to him.

It was ridiculous to hope that he had anything to do with it. Marlene had made it clear how she felt about him, but Marlene didn't get a say in where she went or didn't. Lily held that power.

But, if James was right, maybe there was something for Sirius and Marlene. Maybe there was a chance that they could have something. It obviously couldn't be anything conventional, they weren't conventional people, no guardian was, but it could be something, it could be them.

Sirius started as James groaned and slammed his head against the back of his chair, causing Elias to chuckle. James' job was to try and come up with anything that would give them an idea of where Lily and Marlene would have gone, and the scouring of his mind was anything but quiet.

"Your Majesty," one of the runners entered James' private sitting room, "Your late mother's guardian, Ruth, along with two guests, begs an audience."

"Of course, Timothy," James nodded, "Send Ruthie and her friends in."

Sirius turned to smile at Ruth and felt his heart stop beating in his chest.

Flanking Ruth were Lily and Marlene.

But not as Sirius had come to recognize them while they'd been traveling. Lily was dressed like the princess she was in a rather familiar-looking gown in a green and gold brocade, her tiara intricately plaited into her hair.

But it was Marlene that he couldn't look away from. Her blue dress was plain, but Sirius could see exactly why she chose it. The deep blue of the fabric pulled the color of her eyes forward and made her golden curls shine brighter somehow. Her wand and rapier were belted at her small waist and Sirius could see the signs of daggers hidden about her person. The simple design of the dress made her both stunning and perfectly capable of holding her oath.

He couldn't breathe.

"Your Majesty," Ruth curtsied with a smirk, "I believe you know my friends."

Sirius looked over at James and was pleased to see he wasn't reacting any better to this surprise. But Sirius was sure of one thing, he wanted Marlene alone, now. So he found air, and then his voice.

"James," Sirius moved from behind the table to stand next to his brother, "I'm sure you and Lily have a lot to discuss. Why don't you take her back to your room and Marlene and I will stand guard."

James blinked, "Right, er, if you'd like to, Lily, I have a couple of chairs, and we can talk, just talk," he glanced nervously at Marlene.

Lily smiled and moved with all the grace of a princess to James' side.

"I'd like that," she took his arm and smiled up at him.

"Right," James' face broke into a small smile as he led them through the door to his room.

"I would feel better being in the antechamber, Sirius." Marlene frowned at the door James walked through as it closed.

"Of course," Sirius smiled and moved to open the door, "after you."

Marlene walked through and Sirius tried to ignore the way Ruth and Elias stared at him. He didn't even have words for this in his brain, let alone words to explain to his teachers what was going on.

Instead, he focused on closing the door that led into his room, and then James'. With the click of the latch, he gained the privacy with Marlene he craved.

But when he turned back to her, he was met with tears standing in her eyes.

"You're alive," she whispered.

"I'm told that's thanks to you." Sirius wanted to hit something at thinking she'd thought him dead for nearly three weeks.

She shook her head, "I'm sure it was Remus."

"No, he told me your foul brew is what kept me from dying," Sirius smirked and took the remaining steps between them.

"Why," her voice broke, "why did you jump in front of that spell?"

Sirius pulled a hand over his face. He didn't want to have these hard conversations, and especially not now. But he knew Marlene, and he wouldn't get very far without them.

"I'm a bit of a loyal prat."

Marlene raised an eyebrow at him and Sirius sighed.

"The night of the attack on the Ottery border, James asked, as my brother, that I help protect Lily the same as I do him. The way he asked, I knew it would tangle itself in my oath, but I didn't make him rephrase it."

Sirius took Marlene's hand and pulled her to sit on his bed with him before continuing.

"I let it be tangled in my oath because I wanted it to be. I wanted a way to help you. And, and I wanted a way to protect you. He asked after I had seen you at your lowest, Marls. And it was the lies we told you that put you there! You wouldn't have felt like you needed to kill the man if you knew who we were! Add to it what would have happened if we'd been attacked again with you not able to respond... I was willing to walk through fire for you at that point, I still am. So I let it become binding."

He squeezed her hand, "And I'm glad because we would have lost both you and Lily if I hadn't."

A few tears escaped down her cheek and Marlene angrily swiped at them. "You're a loyal prat and I want to hex you for this."

Sirius wiped her tears with his thumb. "But you're not going to?"

Marlene gave him a watery laugh, "No, I suppose I'm not. I probably would have killed the man holding James anyway." She rested her hand against his chest, "To save you, honestly. I didn't know until Enid what it meant for our blood to burn. I would have still thought both your lives in danger. If my attempt to free James hadn't worked, I probably would have gotten desperate."

She looked up at him with full determination in her eyes. "But you shouldn't have done this without my permission. Now we have the problem that you're bound to my charge and I'm not bound to yours."

"You are, to a point," Sirius hedged, he knew where she was going with this. He knew the only way to make things even.

"No," her voice was firm, "We will have equality here Sirius, I will be linked to James."

"What if things don't work out for James and Lily?" He knew it was futile, but Sirius owed her something after what he put her through, owed her a way out.

"I've changed my mind, I will hex you," her face looked up at his with a smirk.

Sirius groaned but smiled, "I knew you'd be the end of me."

"Don't worry about Lily and James," Marlene glanced back at the door that led to James' room, "He'll have a lot to make up for, but Lily's different now, better. I'd put my money on things working out for them."

Sirius smiled at the door before looking back down at her, "So you're set on this equality thing then?"

"Yes, so we'll take care of that soon, preferably without Lily at first. She's upset enough now that she actually understands what me being her guardian means."

Sirius nodded, "I might be able to make it so James doesn't even know, but we'll get to that later." Then he switched gears to something he'd wanted to say since they joined up at Diagon. "I'm sorry I had to lie to you, Marlene. I'm so sorry. I know following my sovereign's command is no excuse…"

"I understand," she cut him off, "you're a bit of a loyal prat after all."

She was so close. He could feel her breath on his chest, her blue eyes were shining against her golden hair and the blue of her dress. Her smirk was pulling him in, closing the distance between them. And Sirius was pulled back to the night before the attack when she stared up at him as he fought the impulse to lean down to kiss her, before she pushed up and captured his lips, pressing her body against him, her voice the siren's song that shipwrecked him against the rocks.

"Please don't stop me," Sirius finally gave in and brought his lips to hers.

Marlene nearly melted into him, sighing softly and wrapping her arms around his neck as she parted her lips. Sirius let his hands roam as she brought her fingers to grip in his hair. Her breath catching and her body arching into him was enough to drive him mad, but then she undid the belt that held her rapier and wand at her waist and pulled him over her on his bed.

"I know this can't be anything," she whispered as he indulged himself with kissing her perfect neck. "But I have to tell you, I'm in love with you."

Sirius felt his smile spread over her neck before he kissed his way up to look at her.

"I'm in love with you too."

Marlene's smile was blinding and Sirius couldn't help but kiss her again.

"We'll figure something out," he assured her between kisses.

Marlene stopped kissing him and he pulled back to see her smile had gone just a touch dim. "Sirius, you know we can't."

He stared down at her with confusion, "We can't marry, but that doesn't mean we can't be happy."

She looked unconvinced and Sirius frowned.

"Our oaths say nothing about not being allowed to love another person," he smirked at her before leaning down to kiss behind her ear and whisper, "or sharing their bed."

The way her body curved up into him derailed what he'd been planning to say next and he kissed her further. But her voice seemed to pull him back to the topic.

"What about James and Lily?"

"They'll be thrilled for us," he smirked when he found one of her daggers, and carefully relieved her of it, setting it next to her rapier and wand.

"Sirius," she went to protest further, but Sirius wasn't having it.

"Marlene," he pushed himself up to hover over her. "On my oath, I will love no other woman but you. Regardless of these distracting details that we will have time to sort out soon enough, you are who I want to be with, in whatever capacity we can manage."

Marlene's eyes were huge as she stared up at him, but her smile was almost shy and he nearly cut off her words to kiss her again.

"On my oath, Sirius, I will love no other man but you. I want to be with you, in whatever capacity we can manage."

Sirius felt his chest tighten at her words, and then laughed when she grabbed her wand and locked James and Lily in James' room.

"They'll be fine," she murmured as she began untucking his shirt, catching one of his daggers before it fell. "Please don't stop us."


	44. Chapter 44

**James:**

James was trying to keep a level head. Just because she'd come back to him did not mean she had forgiven him. It did not mean she wanted to marry him. And it most certainly did not mean she loved him.

But, Merlin, whatever it did mean she'd chosen to show up looking like a dream.

"You're gorgeous," he breathed as he shut the door between his room and Sirius'.

She smiled and sat in one of the chairs in his large room. James tripped trying to make it to the other chair. He was positive if he looked away from her she'd vanish.

"Careful," Lily reached out to steady him.

"Lily, I…"

"James, we…"

James shoved his hand in his hair, "You go first."

Lily bit her lip, "I want to figure out how I feel about you. I thought I might love you when we were traveling and then all of a sudden you're my arranged husband and you knew I was supposed to be your wife but you said nothing. And, and I recognize that you had been trying to tell me for a while who you were. But," she frowned, "I'm really upset with you for lying to me all this time. So I came here because I want to know if I do love you, and if I do, if we can be happy together."

James thought he was going to pass out.

She wanted to give them a chance! She'd come to him because she thought she loved him too before she knew who he was!

She was giving him a second chance!

"Lily, I'm so sorry, and I promise you there will be no more lying. I want us to be happy together, to go horseback riding and practice archery, just like we dreamed about." He smiled encouragingly at her.

Lily sighed and looked down at her hands, "I want to trust you."

James reached across to intertwine his hand with hers. "I fear there's a 'but' lingering behind your lips."

"James," she hesitated a moment, "what was true? How do I know what was lies to keep us traveling together and what was real?"

James felt his smile fall from his face.

"Lily," he squeezed her hand, "everything was true except leading you to think that I didn't know who you were and that there were people after me as well. All those stories, they're real. I can take you to meet Georgina, the head maid with the best stories that I scrubbed the main hall to hear. And Ruth can tell you how the whole capital scoured the streets looking for their six-year-old Crown Prince when he went after his father."

James took hope from the little chuckle he pulled from her lips.

"Lily, everything I told you was real, every story is true, every feeling, I meant it."

Lily finally looked up at him from their intertwined hands.

"Why did you agree to marry a princess you'd never met? Why agree to marry me in the first place?"

James frowned, where to begin?

"Lily there are no good reports coming out of Privet. The rumors I was getting were mostly wrong, but I didn't know that until I had spent a few hours in Privet. I'm a magic-user, and if Privet reached out to me to marry off their princess, then I felt confident that their princess was likely a magic user too. And I was worried if I said no, then that princess would suffer. I didn't know if I'd actually marry you, but I knew I could keep you safe if the rumors that Privet wasn't safe for magic users were true. And that was far more important to me because I was worried I might have needed to create some sort of underground escape route for all of Privet's magic users to make it to Godric's Hollow since one of the most common rumors was that they were burning magic users."

James ran a heavy hand over his face at the memory.

"Before I knew you, Privet's princess was to be the first refugee in my rescue mission. And I hoped you would have a better description of what was going on. I didn't know if I needed to get Arthur and Rosmerta involved or not, but I didn't want to sit by while some monarchy decided they could abuse their power to hurt their citizens."

James pushed his free hand into his hair.

"So maybe it wasn't completely altruistic, you being here was hopefully a way to get the information I needed, and if we felt like a marriage would work then I guess I probably would have married you, but I was fully prepared to set you up as a noblewoman here and let you live your life however you wanted."

Lily looked up at him silently as she processed his answer. But James couldn't seem to let it be silent between them.

"I am so sorry. I'm sorry for betraying your trust. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I didn't just explain all of this from the beginning. If I had known how amazing you were, how I was going to fall in love with you, how... If I'd known… If… Lily, I promise, if you give us a chance to work through this, I'll prove that I can be the man you want to be with."

She bit her lip and James feared it was hesitation he saw in her eyes. So he gave her the best assurance he could.

"And if you decide you don't want this if you don't want me," he swallowed hard, "I'll give you refuge here in Godric's Hollow. I'll set you up as a noblewoman in your own right and you'll be safe from your sister and from me and can live out your life as you wish, with whom you wish."

Lily was quiet for a long moment before she squeezed his hand.

"Can we start over? Can we pretend that I showed up because Petunia sent me? Can we get to know each other knowing that the end goal is seeing if we could be happy together, married?"

James felt his smile grow across his face at the same rate that relief flooded his chest.

"That sounds perfect," he stood before turning towards her and bowing deeply.

"My poor kingdom is dim compared to your stunning beauty your Highness."

Lily laughed at him and it felt like life ringing in his ears.

"Your words are kind your Majesty, and terribly flattering." Lily smiled as James returned to the seat next to her.

"Nay, your Highness, for your beauty would be radiant even if you had traveled the roads of the world for two months wearing plain travelers clothes and plaited hair."

Lily blushed with a small smile and it was a glorious sight.

"Is this how you would have behaved if we'd met this way?"

"These are all the things I forced myself not to say when I met you in Knockturn." James took her hand and brought her knuckles to his lips, smiling when he saw her chest rise quickly with the catch of her breath. "You won my heart that night, your Highness."

"Would your Majesty consent to house me and my guardian in this arrangement?" Lily's voice started breathlessly before she seemed to pull in enough air to finish with the confidence he'd grown accustomed to hearing from her.

"I suppose it would be inappropriate for you to sleep here just yet," he smirked at Lily's laughter and the slight tinge that returned to her cheeks, "So I will most gladly give you rooms until such time you feel them tiresome."

"You're Majesty is too kind," Lily smirked.

James reached for her hand again and intertwined their fingers, "I suppose I should let you get some sleep. We have an early morning ahead of us."

"We do?" Lily frowned in confusion.

James nodded, "I told you in Ottery that I had a dozen little things I wanted your help with but couldn't ask you about them because they'd give away too much. Well, all those things are to do with the running of Godric's Hollow, and I want your input."

"Petunia kept me in the dark about the politics in Privet, James." She sighed.

"It's nothing to do with Privet," he assured her, "it's all things with what's happening here in Godric's Hollow."

"But I'm not a citizen of Godric's Hollow," she started to object but James cut her off.

"That's why you'll have the best input. You're not tainted by popular opinion or jaded from years of how it's always been. You're giving me fresh eyes."

"I was never trained in politics, James." She shook her head. "My parents had me focus completely on magic."

"See," James grinned like a cat in the cream; she'd just made his point! "You'll think of better ideas because you won't be influenced by made-up rules that we follow only because no one points out there could be something different."

"You really want me to help?" Her bright emerald eyes looked up at him skeptically.

"I'm begging you to help me, Lily." James kissed her knuckles again before stealing a kiss against the inside of her wrist.

"James!" She laughed.

"You asked for us to start over," he smirked as he set her hand back in her lap, "This is how I would have tried to woo you."

Lily bit her lip and smirked, "Would your wooing also involve kissing places other than my hand?"

James leaned in closer.

"Oh yes, but," it took all his self-control but he managed to pull back, "it would be completely planned out; it would be memorable and heart-stopping and would guarantee that you'd never want to return to Privet permanently."

Lily laughed breathlessly and James almost threw the game away to kiss her right there, but he held strong.

She was giving him a second chance and he'd be damned if he threw it away like that!

"Let's see about some rooms for you and your guardian, your Highness," he stood and offered her his hand.

Lily took his hand before moving to his arm. "Thank you, James."

"Anything for you, Lils."

James pushed on the door and frowned when it didn't open. He pushed again, with much more force, and then nearly fell through the door into Sirius' room, dragging Lily with him.

He let Lily go at the last moment, thankfully not pulling her to the ground with him. James, however, found himself splayed out on the floor of Sirius' room.

He'd have to remember to ask Robert to have a look at his door.

"Alright there, James?"

James turned to see Sirius looking incredibly smug sitting on his bed with Marlene who was tying off the plait in her hair. James pulled himself up off the floor and tried to look composed.

"Remind me to ask Robert to look at the door." James nodded to his brother.

"You're plaiting your hair?" Lily's tone had a sing-song quality to it and James looked down at her for context but Lily continued to grin at her guardian.

Marlene turned with a smile that looked decidedly happy. "It was a bit warm and I thought it would help me cool down."

"I'm sure," Lily smirked, "James is going to procure rooms for us and then wants my help with matters of State in the morning."

She moved to take James' arm again.

"Lead the way, James," Marlene stood and nodded to James, her smile still in place.

James blinked at her willingness to go along but was distracted when he noticed Sirius fall into step beside the small woman and place a discreet hand on the small of her back.

James grinned but said nothing; there'd be time to tease him for it later.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably not going to post this next week. My husband surprised me with a little Valentine's getaway. :) So if I manage to get everything written by Thursday morning, I'll post then, but if not, then I'll be back on Friday, February 21st.

**Marlene:**

The rooms James procured for them were expansive. Lily's rooms in Privet weren't small by any stretch, but these rooms made those look like a cupboard under the stairs.

Marlene had put off Lily's questions the night before, claiming exhaustion, but really she craved the privacy of again having her own space. For the first time since they left Privet, Marlene slept in a room to herself, in a luxurious soft bed she had all to herself, that wasn't the cramped cots they'd traveled with, knowing that Lily was safely locked in their rooms with her.

It was the first time in months that Marlene awoke feeling completely rested.

And incredibly happy.

"Good morning," Lily came in from her room and jumped on Marlene's bed, "Alright, I let you bask in your afterglow yesterday. Now I want all the details!"

Marlene laughed as Lily climbed under the covers with her.

"You're ridiculous, you know?" Marlene pushed up on her elbow and rested her head on her hand.

"Yes, and you haven't stopped smiling since I walked out of James' room." Lily rolled her eyes at her, "Now spill!"

Marlene smiled wider, "It's all quite boring, really. I'm sure you don't want to hear it."

Lily huffed, "I don't believe that for one second, Marlene!"

Marlene laughed as Lily's face morphed into what Marlene called her sad puppy face.

"Please, Marly," She batted her big green eyes at her, "please tell me all about how wonderful things are going for you and Sirius."

"Going?" Marlene shook her head, "Lily I've had a little less than an hour with the man since we showed up."

Lily dropped the facade and threw one of her hands up into the air. "Fine, then tell me how great that hour of snogging him was!"

"I didn't just snog him that whole time," Marlene chuckled as Lily's face lit up.

"Details, Mar, details!"

It felt so much like old times, back when they were just girls, back before Marlene was made Lily's guardian, back when they'd make up fortunes with the other girls that lived near the McKinnon's and promise handsome husbands and jewels and beauty.

This was just decidedly better.

"Oh Marly," Lily squealed as Marlene finished with the details, minus the little one about Sirius also being bound to Lily, "So what happens next?"

"For the moment, nothing."

"Wait," Lily sat up, "do you mean to tell me that you give yourselves to each other, on your oaths nonetheless, and nothing happens?!"

Marlene rolled her eyes, "Lily, we still have you and James. You both are still our lives' priority. Nothing happens now because we both need to be focused on the oaths we've built our trust upon."

Lily shook her head. "But I want you to be happy!"

"And I am, Lils," Marlene fell back against her pillows with a soft smile. "Don't you see, I gave up all hope of anything like this when we were sixteen. And to have Sirius, even if it's just yesterday, is so much more than I thought possible after I took the oath to be your guardian."

Marlene looked up at her adopted sister.

"Lily, I am so happy."

"I don't understand," Lily shook her head, "but if you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

Marlene smiled. "I am happy, but speaking of details, what did you decide about James?"

Lily curled around one of the pillows, "We've decided that we're going to start over. Petunia would have sent me here ultimately, and so we're going to try this again, getting to know each other the way we would have if I'd been sent here as his potential bride."

Marlene mulled that over for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, and am I correct in assuming he put you at ease over everything from the last almost three months?"

"Sort of," Lily looked torn. "He gave me a promise that if I decide this won't work, that he'll set me up as a noblewoman here in Godric's Hollow and keep me safe from Petunia."

Marlene felt a smile pull on her lips, "I have to admit, I'm impressed. I didn't think he was bright enough for that."

"James is brilliant!" Lily defended.

Marlene's grin widened, "Oh? Please tell me more about how wonderful your betrothed is."

Lily's face went as red as her hair, and Marlene laughed before having the good grace to change the subject.

"When is James coming to collect us?"

"Oh!" Lily jumped from the bed, "I forgot! We better get back into our dresses and ask for breakfast to be brought up." She scrambled out of Marlene's bed and towards her room.

Marlene chose to bask just a moment longer in her happiness before pushing out of her bed and commencing the day.


	46. Chapter 46

**Lily:**

Lily wondered if politics were this much fun in Privet as well, or if Petunia and Vernon managed to suck all the enjoyment out of that too.

She had been hesitant to give any comment at first as she sat with James and three members of his Privy Council, choosing to start by observing James' closest advisors.

Remus came off as reserved at first, but as the day progressed Lily found he was the one who got them off track more than anyone else, usually making it look like James' fault in the process - it was hilarious! Peter was always quick to offer James support, which immediately endeared him to Lily. And Elias had the wisdom of a man who'd been in this position for decades longer than any of them had been alive.

The only member missing was Sirius, who James explained was '_spending every waking moment training since Rems has given him the go-ahead to do more than walk the halls_.'

Lily's hesitation to offer any input quickly faded when James took the time to ask her directly what she thought of this situation or that problem and the rest of the Council took her comments seriously. Within the first hour, Lily felt at ease and by lunch, she felt like she belonged there with them all.

"I think we can call it quits today my friends." James stretched and looked out the window at the late afternoon sun. "I'll see you all at dinner."

Lily felt the pull of disappointment at his words but managed to maintain the demure face of a well-trained princess. She stood and turned to Marlene, who had sat behind her, when James touched her elbow.

"Your Highness, I understand you're a proficient archer."

Lily felt her heart flutter. There was something about the way he said her royal title - like it was their little secret - that made her feel short of breath.

"I have trained most of my life, Your Majesty."

James stepped closer. "I have always been intrigued by the sport. Would you be so generous as to offer me a lesson this afternoon? The sun is warming the autumn air. It would be a pleasant way to pass the couple of hours before dinner."

Lily grinned, "I'd be honored to show you what I know."

"Capital!" James turned to Elias. "Let's see these Ladies to their rooms and after we've all changed we can head to the training grounds. Perhaps Sirius will stop working so hard long enough to give us a hello."

Lily watched Elias hide his smile behind stroking his gray short-cropped beard.

"As you wish, your Majesty."

Marlene gave her an amused look as they walked back to their rooms.

"You should tell your betrothed you want a gilded bow for your lessons," she whispered as her steps fell into place with Lily's.

Lily shook her head and smiled at Marlene's teasing.

"Oh, better yet," Marlene continued when Lily didn't respond, "tell him that his goal today should be to split your arrow with his."

Lily bit her cheek to keep from laughing and shoved Marlene toward the wall.

James looked over at her with a perplexed smile. Lily let the matter drop before she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

And after changing into her traveling clothes, Lily joined James to walk to the training grounds, her bow, and quiver in hand.

"I see you have a bow that fits your arm length," Lily nodded to his new bow as they took their stances.

James blushed, "Yes, well, I, I thought it might help my form if, if the bow fit..."

"I think it's fine, James, a good wood too." Lily admired the craftsmanship of James' new bow. It wasn't gilded, but it wasn't far from it either.

They stepped out into the crisp autumn air and Lily filled her lungs with the feeling of freedom as they moved to the targets.

"I still have the copy I made of yours," James' smile was soft as he hung his quiver. "It's hanging in my bedroom."

Lily smirked, "Your bedroom?"

"Yes," James poked her side, "because if I put it anywhere else, Sirius might steal it as a prank."

Lily laughed. "I suppose a copy of my bow is less worrisome than a stolen lock of hair."

James' eyes went huge. "Please tell me that's a hypothetical scenario and not an example from your life."

Lily tried to force a smile. "We were children, really, and I didn't return his favor. I thought we were friends because there were so few magic users at my sister's Court. I was wrong."

"If Marlene didn't castrate him, I'll send your sister an ultimatum for his head on a platter." His voice was strained and the mischief had gone out of his eyes.

"James, breathe, it was four years ago and yes Marlene handled it and then my sister dismissed all magic users from Court. I haven't seen him since."

"If you ever see him again, point him out to me and I'll teach him about stealing a Lady's hair."

James huffed before stepping back and letting an arrow fly towards the targets, missing them entirely.

At least here they didn't need to dig through trees to retrieve the arrows.

Lily frowned as James' whole demeanor dimmed. She didn't want him to worry, Severus was long gone, but James couldn't seem to see that. So Lily pulled a page she'd learned from James' book.

"When I was about eleven," she began and smiled when James paused mid arrow grab to look at her. "My father and mother wanted to see what the McKinnon's were teaching me. Lord McKinnon had been tasked with my magical education and so on a day I normally went to their home, my parents came along."

James was watching her, his smile not quite back but the mischief was returning to his eyes.

"Marlene has a younger sister, by about seven years, named Catherine. And at that time she was just starting to display her magic. Well, Lord McKinnon starts having me show off for my parents and no one notices sweet little Catherine come in the room."

A hint of a smile ghosted James' lips and Lily felt her smile spread across her face at the sight of it.

"Out of nowhere, my dad's hair is purple, bright purple like his state robes."

James' smile finally found its way back to his handsome face and Lily felt the tension ease out of her.

"And I completely panic that I did it somehow!" Lily laughed. "My dad's suddenly got purple hair and I don't know how to fix it. And Lord McKinnon is doing his best not to laugh, and then Lady McKinnon walks in to fetch Catherine and says 'I like the change, your Majesty. You look more approachable now.' Before taking Catherine away with her!"

Lily felt proud as James' laughter boomed from him. She'd done quite well.

"What did your dad say?"

"He looked right at Lord McKinnon and said, 'Angus, don't toy with me, what's your wife talking about?' And then my mom looked at my dad and screamed." Lily clutched her stomach as she laughed at the memory.

"How did you figure out it was accidental magic?" James smiled and balanced his bow against his quiver.

"Well it wasn't me, and it wasn't Lord McKinnon…" Lily laughed again.

James stepped closer, his mischievous twinkle completely back. "Why do I sense there's more to this story?"

Lily bit her lip to keep from dissolving into a fit of giggles.

"Well, Marlene coming in screaming because Catherine had turned her hair pink was a good indication of what had happened to my father."

James' laughter pulled Lily into her giggles as she remembered Marlene's pink hair and red face as she yelled for her father to "do something!" She glanced back at Marlene only to see that her sister was a ways off, talking with Sirius.

Lily smiled. She was rather enjoying her pseudo-privacy with James as Elias pretended not to be there. This was turning out exactly as she pictured it, and in that moment, Lily let herself simply enjoy it.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray for Friday updates! I'll be back on February 29th with chapters 49 and 50. (Because I'm sort of geeking out over posting on leap year, but I'm weird that way...)

**Sirius:**

Sirius noticed them walking down to the grounds and smirked. Apparently, James' plan to use archery lessons was extending into their current circumstances.

He had started to move toward them when he remembered why he was out at the training grounds in the first place. As much as he may have wanted to go to Marlene, he had an oath to uphold. Trying to ignore the bitterness that only made him angry with himself, Sirius threw himself back into his regimen to rebuild the strength he lost while recovering.

He was so caught up, he almost didn't hear her.

"You're quiet on your feet," he turned to find her about ten feet away from him.

"I was trying to be," she smirked at him and Sirius felt his smile break across his face.

"Couldn't stay away?"

It was too easy to fall with her, fall into conversation, fall into her stare, fall in love.

"You're a great deal less tiresome than those two," she gestured back at James and Lily with a teasing grin.

"Of course, I am. I haven't got a royal bone in my body."

She laughed and Sirius couldn't help but move closer to her.

"Oh, you've got at least one tiresome bone though, seeing as you've yet to tell me how we're going to get James bound in my oath."

There was an edge in her voice that felt like a challenge. And maybe it was that Remus had told everyone to go easy on him, or maybe it was the way her eyes flashed as she spoke, or maybe it was simply Sirius could never stop playing with fire, but whatever the reason, he goaded Marlene.

"You've yet to give me a reason to do so."

Ice started to form behind her blue eyes as she bristled.

"Are you implying that you don't find my skills adequate?"

Sirius flashed her a grin, "All I said was, I don't have a reason."

She stepped up to him and pointed at the foils and wasters and other practice weapons kept on the training grounds.

"Choose your sword, Black, and I'll give you your reason right now."

"We ought to choose the same, don't you think?" Sirius strode over to the practice swords. "After all, this waster," he picked up the one used for broadsword training, "would destroy a foil."

"Then leave them," Marlene shrugged and smirked at him, "I've been trained in hand to hand combat."

Sirius knew this was a dangerous game. Could he wrestle her now, after having held her closer than he had ever held another being? Could he keep it a contest of strength and not a repeat of the previous evening? Could he play with fire and not get burned?

"Winner chooses how we go about evening out our responsibilities." She held out her hand.

"Agreed," Sirius took her hand in his and resisted the urge to pull her into him.

When they'd traveled together, Sirius learned a fair bit of what Marlene's training had been. Almost none of it had instructed her on the oath she'd taken or the intricacies of it. It had entirely centered around combat, whether with her wand, her sword, or her firsts, Marlene was a coiled snake that looked like a delicate gold brooch. And Sirius realized he'd just agreed to spar with a woman who could probably kill him in her sleep.

But based on their previous rendezvous, Sirius hoped she'd at least let him live, if for no other reason than she admitted she loved him.

They took a few paces back from each other and Sirius felt the familiarity of combat training take over his brain. It was as if he was thrown right back into those days when Ruth and Elias started training him. Muscle memory thankfully overpowered the part of his brain that couldn't separate now from yesterday, and he was able to spar without too much distraction.

But he was still weak, and Marlene played that to her advantage. She forced him to move as much as she could and rather than simply block his strikes, she'd force his momentum to spin them around making Sirius work harder to stay on his feet. It was the most frustrating because Sirius knew that he would have been fine if they'd performed this little display before Enid. But now, Marlene's antics were draining him.

"Need a break?" Marlene grinned at him.

"You're in perfect condition you know," Sirius cursed his labored breath. "And I'm coming back from the dead."

"So that's a yes?" She almost got his arm but Sirius just managed to escape her grip.

"No, it's a point to be made," he deflected her strike but had to spin quickly to keep her in front of him.

"Next you'll tell me that you've been working hard all day while I've been sitting around doing nothing." She smirked before striking again.

Sirius only barely made the block.

"And you'd be right."

"Do you have enough of a reason now?"

Marlene started to close the distance between them and Sirius knew he was losing energy fast.

"If I'm not mistaken, I'm still on my feet."

He was insane, he knew, but Marlene seemed to bring that out in him. He couldn't not play with fire.

She moved so quickly that Sirius almost missed what she was going for. But in his exhausted state, he could only watch as she sprung at him and managed to knock his feet out from under him and pin him to the ground.

"You know, I do believe you are mistaken."

Sirius' breathing was labored for a new reason now as Marlene held his arms down.

"And for some reason, I'm not worried about it," he smirked up at her, pleased to see her eyes darkening as she stared down at him.

"Suddenly this victory seems a touch hollow..."

Sirius chuckled, "Because you know I've been goading you this whole time?"

Marlene glared at him and Sirius gave in to the emotions he'd been fighting since he saw her come down to the training grounds.

He summoned the last of his strength and pushed up to kiss her.

"We're going to get found out," Marlene whispered as he fell back to the dirt below him.

"And I don't care," he reached for her hands as she released his wrists. "I'll come by tonight, we'll figure out how to get you bound to James."

The ghost of a smile touched Marlene's lips. "It'll have to be after Lily has gone to sleep."

Sirius let her pull him up with a grin, "So much the better."


	48. Chapter 48

**James:**

James turned and saw Marlene offer Sirius a hand up from the dirt. Had he slipped? He seemed alright, aside from looking exhausted. James would need to remind him to take it easy or Remus would put him back to walking the halls.

James' concern for Sirius' physical exhaustion was momentarily put on hold when Lily touched his arm and started talking.

"Would you mind sending someone to show Marly and me to the great hall once we're ready to join you for dinner? We're still learning our way around."

"I'll come and escort you myself," James reached out and took her quiver from her hands.

"Your Majesty is too kind. Is the dress I wore today and yesterday appropriate?"

James felt his smile go soft, "You mean my mother's dress?"

Lily's eyes went wide and her smile faltered.

"I, I, it was a gift, I mean, it was from Ruth, because I didn't have enough to buy something, and she thought it was a good idea, and I…"

"Lily," James cut her off and stepped closer, pulling her hand into his, "It's beautiful on you, and I hope you'll continue to wear it."

Her smile slowly returned, "Thank you, James. I'm honored to wear it."

James wanted to close the distance, he wanted to pull her into him, to run a hand into her hair, to press his lips to hers. But James forced himself to move, to slide his arm around her waist and look back at Sirius and Marlene. Because he was going to earn her trust, he was going to wait until he was sure that the moment he did kiss her, she'd know exactly how much he loved her.

The little sigh that escaped her lips made him second guess himself for a moment before Elias shouted out to Sirius and Marlene that they were heading back to the palace.

"You've gained a lovely accessory," Marlene grinned at Lily as she and Sirius approached them.

"Will you stop it?" Lily laughed and grinned up at James to roll her eyes.

"I think she's right," James chuckled. "I'm a rather lovely cloak, don't you think?" And he moved to drape his arms around her shoulders and pull her back flush against him.

"We'll call him your king-skin cloak," Sirius grinned as he wiped his brow with his shirt sleeve.

"You need to lay off a bit," James frowned at his brother. "Remus will make you walk the halls again if he knows how hard you're pushing yourself."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Please don't go running to tattle on me, baby brother. I promise I'll be good."

"Baby brother?" Lily looked up at James, still pressed against his front.

"Sirius is five months James' senior." Elias chuckled at their antics.

Marlene laughed and grinned up at James, "That makes you the youngest in our little group, perhaps I'll start calling you baby brother as well."

"Marly! That's hardly the way to address your sovereign!" Lily scolded, but James paused to look down at Lily perplexed.

"Have you set a date?" Marlene beat him to speaking with a triumphant smirk on her face. "Because there's only one way James is my sovereign, Lils."

James watched Lily's face blush bright red and he turned to glare at Marlene. He didn't need the woman making his situation more complicated.

"I was thinking you may like to have some new dresses made," James changed the conversation and started pulling Lily toward the palace.

Lily smiled gratefully up at him. "That would be wonderful. I left everything in Privet."

"I could send for all your things instead if you'd like."

Lily's grin went a touch mischievous, "Can I help you draft the letter you send? Petunia still doesn't know where I am, it could be a fun way to let her know she's wasting money on kidnappers, especially because I ended up right where she wanted me anyway."

James couldn't help himself, he brought his lips to her cheek before smiling down at her. "Merlin, you're brilliant! We'll draft up a letter together, then you'll have all your things in your new home."

Lily wrapped her arms around his middle and laughed as they pushed forward to the palace. James' heart soaring that Lily didn't object to calling his home her new home.


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm way too excited about posting on February 29th, but it's the little wins that get us through the day to day. I hope you get some little wins today. Chapters 51 & 52 go up on March 6th.

**Marlene:**

Marlene wasn't positive when to expect Sirius exactly. Or if she should be waiting in the sitting room or her bedroom. Sirius had left dinner early and she hadn't had a chance to clarify things with him. Marlene did know that she didn't want to wake Lily, especially with what they were going to be discussing. She felt sure that Lily wouldn't be happy with the arrangement they were going to try and secure.

But at the same time, Marlene preferred the privacy her bedroom offered.

She listened at Lily's door a moment before quietly pushing it open. Her sister slept on, her body rising and falling with her breath. Marlene quietly closed the door and then locked it.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the door between her room and the sitting room open.

"Easy," Sirius grinned at her and Marlene was torn between being upset with him and wanting to run to him.

"Have you maybe heard of knocking?"

Sirius chuckled as he crossed the room in four large steps. "I'm familiar with the practice. But I didn't want to chance waking Lily."

Marlene chose to channel her adrenaline from the scare into kissing Sirius, seeing that yelling at him would be counterproductive.

"If you hadn't left before dinner was finished I would have known when and where to expect you." She grinned up at him when he pulled back.

"Someone wore me out with a bit of sparing this afternoon. I had to get a kip in before coming to see you. That or I would have just crawled into your bed and not discussed anything with you as I fell asleep."

Marlene laughed quietly when he took a step back towards her bed.

"We still need to figure out how to bind me to James, Sirius." Marlene stopped them a foot from her bed.

"Lay with me," Sirius kissed along her neck. "And we'll talk."

"You aren't capable of talking and laying." Marlene pulled back.

"One experience and you think you know the extent of my capabilities while in a bed?"

Marlene felt her breath catch.

"Sirius..."

She needed to be strong and tried to step towards her door but apparently Sirius' nap had restored the greater part of his strength. In one quick movement, he had her back pressed against her bed as he hovered above her, pinning her hands above her head.

"You were holding back this afternoon," she accused trying to put some substance behind her voice.

Sirius shook his head and smirked, "No, my nap gave me enough energy to take you by surprise and now I'm completely spent. I'm going to collapse and pass out."

Marlene laughed as he let himself down to press against her.

"You promised me, Sirius." She slipped her hands from his slackened grip and tangled them in his hair. "You promised we'd figured this out tonight."

Sirius kissed her cheek before groaning as he lifted himself up and off of her.

"Alright, the easiest option is to make it something that we work into James and Lily's wedding ceremony. We could even do it so Lily has no idea what's transpiring."

Marlene pushed back to rest against her pillows and patted the space beside her. Sirius winked at her but remained sprawled out near her knees.

"I'd like something a bit sooner than that if we can manage it." She eyed him, trying to determine his motive for not coming to sit next to her.

"Can you trick Lily into asking you to protect James?"

"I don't like doing those things unless I have too." She huffed.

"Well," Sirius moved his hand to rest on her knee, "then the other option is to ask her directly. If she says yes then you're set. If she says no…"

Marlene pushed her head back into her pillows and groaned. "If she says no then it makes it so we can't wrap it up into their marriage ceremony. She'll be suspecting every move we make if she tells me no."

"Exactly," Sirius' hand began to draw patterns against her thigh and Marlene sighed at his touch.

"We'll get you bound to James once Lily walks down that aisle." Sirius moved his hands and kissed where he'd been caressing.

"And what if they decide not to go through with it?"

Marlene tried to keep her attention centered, but she was losing focus and she wasn't sure how to feel about it since a large part of her no longer cared about anything but Sirius' touch.

"They're soulmates, Marls," Sirius moved his hand to run along her skin, "they'll figure it out. Worst case, we'll bring Elias and Ruth into it. They'll help us come up with a plan then."

Marlene looked down at Sirius as he smiled up at her. And she chose to believe him, believe that this would work out, that together they would figure it out. She chose to trust it, this feeling she felt, this love for him that had so claimed her.

"Ok, we'll wait and try your plan."

Sirius moved his hand further up her skin. "I'm taking notes that this makes you far more agreeable for when I need it."

Marlene laughed breathlessly, "You're ridiculous."

"Nah," Sirius stopped to smirk up at her, "I'm finding ways to maneuver the next hundred or so years of my life."

And then he ensured there wasn't much need for talking after that. At least not until he kissed her awake as the sun was just breaking over the horizon.

"I'll see you at breakfast."

And he slipped out of her bed, leaving it feeling quite a bit colder than it had before.


	50. Chapter 50

**Lily:**

Lily reasoned that it wasn't much to ask. She simply wanted to have some time with James, unattended, and why not have it be when they were planning to draft the letter to Petunia. It shouldn't be a problem to request that Elias and Marlene leave them to their own devices for an hour.

So why did she feel so nervous bringing it up?

Her new dresses were beautiful, James had sent the dressmakers the evening they'd discussed sending the letter, but that was a week ago and things had simply been busy. There were so many little details that came with running a country and James pleaded to have her at every meeting he could justify her presence at. With all this work came the reality that Lily and James hadn't had a private moment since their archery outing.

And Lily was starting to realize that it was affecting her greatly. She took comfort in her observations that it was affecting James as well. They reached for each other constantly. James often held her hand through most of the meetings she attended. Lily turned toward him every chance she had. Any time she could touch him she did. She knew her way around his palace now but still asked him to guide her, just so they could have a few moments to talk of things outside of the business of running Godric's Hollow. It was her little reprieve from the hustle and bustle, but Lily had realized the day before when the business of Godric's Hollow had crept into their few spare moments that they weren't enough. She needed more.

And a small corner of her heart admitted that she needed him.

So she batted her eyes and asked James to schedule in writing the letter to Petunia at some point tomorrow. That had gone smoother than the silk of her dress. Now she just had to summon all her training on being a calm and collected princess as she sat with Marlene in their sitting room after dinner - James off at a meeting with an ambassador from one of the countries across the ocean - and secure the second part of her plan.

"Have you had a chance to visit with Sirius at all?" Lily tried to look bored as she gazed out the window. In truth, she wasn't looking at Marlene for fear her sister would see right through to her intentions.

"Here and there," Marlene shrugged, but Lily didn't miss the small smile that graced her lips.

"I wish we could be normal people," Lily sighed, trying to say everything exactly how she had rehearsed it in her head. "Then you could spend all your time with Sirius."

Lily felt Marlene's eyes on her and focused on looking out the window.

"I appreciate your investment in my happiness, but what exactly is the point you're going for?"

Lily resisted the urge to bite her lip, "Just that it would be nice for both of us to be able to choose. I love you, please don't take this the wrong way, but we're forced to be together all the time. Normal people don't have that in their lives."

Lily felt Marlene's penetrating stare and summoned all her courage to turn and face her.

"Who would you like to be spending time with, Lily?"

Nothing in Marlene's voice was accusatory, in fact, Lily would have called her tone supportive, which felt a bit odd. But Lily decided to capitalize on it while she had the chance.

"I just wish I had some time to talk with James, you know? How am I supposed to figure out if I actually love the man if I don't get any time with him that isn't focused on running a kingdom?"

Lily forced herself to breathe as Marlene smiled at her.

"I think I can help. Let me talk to Elias and Sirius. Would you be alright with starting where we have you stay in James' study? Once Sirius is back to guarding James I'm sure we can expand where you get to be to other places but Elias is a bit of a traditionalist."

It took all of Lily's self-control not to squeal in delight, but she let her smile shine bright across her face.

"Would you? His study would be fine. I just, when we were traveling I spent most days talking with him, and now it feels like we get to say hello and goodbye and then we go to our rooms and do it again the next day."

Lily let out a sigh and looked out the window for a moment before turning back to Marlene.

"I miss it, I miss just talking with him."

Marlene moved from her chair and wrapped Lily in a hug.

"Then let's make James give you a bit more of that priority he gave you while we traveled across the continent."

"So you'll talk to Elias tomorrow?"

"I'll do even better," Marlene smirked and walked to the door to their rooms.

"Our runner is going to fetch Sirius for us."

Lily frowned, "But Sirius isn't fully recovered yet."

"But he knows how to approach Elias so that Elias will do what we ask." Marlene relaxed back into her chair with a happy sigh.

Lily tried to keep her smile from giving away the humor she found in Marlene's eagerness to send for Sirius.

Sirius didn't waste time answering the runner's request either and joined them within minutes.

"Now then," he sat on the arm of Marlene's chair, "how can I help you lovely ladies?"

"Lily would like some time with James without having guardians in the same room and without discussing matters of state."

Sirius furrowed his brow as he looked down at Marlene.

"The idiot hasn't already done that!?"

"Sirius!" Lily chided, but he shook his head.

"No, Lily, if my brother hasn't made time for just you then he's an idiot, King or not." Sirius shook his head. "Leave it to me, you'll have a blocked out time at least once a week by tomorrow morning. Honestly, you'd think the man had no brain!"

Lily felt a bit taken aback by Sirius' response, but she really didn't want to lose out on guaranteed time with just James, so she let it drop and changed the subject.

"When do you get to take back your post, Sirius?"

Sirius huffed, "Remus wants me to wait another week at least, he'd prefer three. I might just make James command him to change his timeline."

Lily laughed and then had an idea that she hoped would get her a bit more in good graces with Sirius and Marlene.

She forced a yawn and sighed. "I'm pretty drained from all the meetings today. I'm going to turn in. But you two enjoy each other." She smiled at Marlene encouragingly. "I know the way, you can protect me just as well from the sitting room as you can from your room."

"Let me walk to your room," Marlene shook her head, "Sirius will wait a moment."

"I'm quite good at waiting actually, as long as I get rewarded for all my efforts to do so." He grinned.

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled as she addressed Marlene.

"Fine but after you make sure there are no monsters under my bed, spend some time together. I know you've had less time together than James and I have. No reason both of us should suffer."

Marlene smirked, "Should I consider this a royal command?"

"If it makes you do it then yes," Lily laughed before pushing up out of her chair and heading for her room, Marlene hot on her heels.

"Thank you," Marlene said quietly as they entered Lily's room.

Lily turned and hugged her sister tightly. "All I want is for you to be happy. You gave up everything for me, let me give something back."

Marlene squeezed her once before letting go. "You're going to want all the details in the morning aren't you?"

Lily blew her a kiss as she started changing. "You can bet your oath on it."


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have chapters 53 and 54 up on March 13th and then we should be back to Saturday updates again. :)

**Sirius:**

Sirius kissed Marlene once more before sliding out of her covers.

"I mean this in the best way," she pulled the covers up around her slender form, "but I don't want you to recover fully."

He smirked; part of him agreed with her. He'd spent more nights in her bed than his own, and he could only do that because Elias was covering for him right now. Once he could resume his post, Sirius would be bound to remain with James, just as Marlene remained with Lily.

"We'll just have to get them married. Then they'll be in the same room which solves all our problems." Sirius went back to the bed to kiss her. _Just one more_, he thought.

"Then go tell James to get his act together," Marlene whispered as he pulled back.

"Gladly," he stole one more kiss before seeing himself out and heading for James.

He stepped quietly back into the rooms he shared with James. They were the same rooms James had been in when Sirius ran away from Knockturn. James had refused to move into his parents' rooms after they passed, and Sirius had been relieved. He'd adopted Mia and Monty as his own, and it hurt too much to be in their rooms, to see Monty's favorite chair, to notice how Mia had left her mahogany comb out on the table next to the window. The pain is why James did everything he could to keep Elias and Ruth at the castle. The two were essentially uncle and aunt to James, and their presence helped put Sirius at ease as well. It didn't fill the hole in his heart, but it did help him feel less alone.

Speaking of his teachers, Elias sat on the edge of his cot with his arms crossed as he faced the door.

"Good morning, my friend," Sirius found that the best way to handle Elias was to smile. It was a trick he'd learned from Ruth. She managed to get the man to do almost anything by smiling.

"Don't smile at me," Elias huffed, "you're not getting out of this."

"I'm not trying to get out of anything," Sirius shut the door behind him.

"Where are you going every night?"

"I'm not going anywhere every night, my friend. I slept here last night." Sirius kept an easy smile on his face.

"Don't play games with me," Elias stood. "You're spending entire nights Merlin knows where and then sneaking back in just as the sun rises. You have a responsibility, Sirius!"

"I'm well aware, old friend," Sirius growled. "I've shed more blood because of that responsibility than I ever wanted to. Believe me, I'm very aware of what my oath requires. But as I'm not currently fit for the job, I'm doing my best to help my sovereign in other ways. Trust me, the moment Remus declares me fully fit to protect James, I'll be his shadow."

"How are you helping him then?" Elias' tone had softened by a fraction and Sirius let a long breath out.

"I'm working to make sure he fixes things with Her Highness. They were very happy together before rank and station became involved. I'm working to get them back on track."

Elias studied him for a long moment and Sirius resisted the urge to growl again.

"I'm going to talk to Ruth about this."

Sirius almost laughed but managed an easy smile instead.

"That's a brilliant idea, she'll talk some sense into you. Now if you'll excuse me, James needs some sense verbally beaten into his thick skull."

Sirius didn't wait for Elias' reply. He strode purposefully into his own room and then into James'.

"Rise and shine, your stupidness."

James groaned. "Is that even a word?"

"You can decree it a word if it isn't." Sirius huffed. "I had the most interesting conversation last night with your betrothed bride."

James shot upright. "You were with Lily last night?"

"Yes, she and Marlene sent for me because the idiot who's trying to win over his bride hasn't managed to arrange any time alone with said bride."

James rubbed a tired hand over his face. "I know, I keep meaning to make that happen, I just missed so much while we were traveling and I'm still not caught up."

"James," Sirius cut him off, "your kingdom is going to be stuck to you for the rest of your life. But you're treading dangerously close to losing Lily. She's here to figure out if she loves you, and if you love her. Prove it to her, James. Or stop wasting her time and give some other nobleman a shot at making her happy."

James jumped from the bed and stomped right up to Sirius' face. "If you think for one minute that any other nobleman could make her half as happy as I can you've got another thing coming!"

Sirius grinned. He loved getting his way, especially when it included a rise out of James.

"Good," he put his hand on James' shoulder, "Now give the poor girl your time. For some strange reason, she misses you."

James blinked and then chuckled. "I'll talk to Elias. It sounds like Marlene is on board?"

Sirius nodded, "She won't give you any argument. I, however, am going to give Remus a real argument."

"He's only trying to do what's best for you." James grinned as Sirius moved to the door.

"Yes, and I'm going to do what's best for him. Next week I will resume my post, with or without his fancy Healer's stamp of approval."

Sirius nodded to Elias on his way out to go pick his battle with Remus. Today had already been a very productive day, and he wasn't going to stop the momentum until he had everything where he wanted it.


	52. Chapter 52

**James:**

He shouldn't be this nervous. They'd been with each other constantly for nearly two months while Lily was running away. They'd basically been alone the whole time Marlene had been recovering since she took up ninety percent of Sirius' attention during those days.

These nerves were pathetic, his palms shouldn't be sweating. He was the King of Godric's Hollow for Merlin's sake!

But James still felt like his lungs couldn't take air while he walked with Lily to his study.

"I'm going to do some checks," Elias turned to look at him. "And you'll need to keep the window closed and the curtains drawn."

"Of course," James tried to put some confidence in his voice.

"Marlene and I will know if anything is wrong but if you can give us any advance warning do it. My blood is old and I'll react better if it isn't burning right at the outset."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," James sighed. At least he knew where Sirius got his overbearing instincts from.

"They will be fine, Elias," Marlene smiled. "We'll be right outside the door."

Elias grunted.

James wished he wasn't so nervous; this would be pretty funny if he could concentrate on anything other than how his stomach seemed to be trying to run away and join the circus.

Elias opened the door to James' study and pulled his wand.

"Was he this way with your parents?" Lily whispered.

Her amused tone made James smile.

"Worse. He remodeled the guardian chambers adjacent to their room so that he could be closer to my father after my parents were married."

Lily held in her laughter with a hand over her mouth. "How did Ruth take that?"

"I'm told she called him a tired old windbag and then helped him finish the remodel in time for my parents' wedding night."

Lily smirked as she bit her lip but said nothing more. James did notice her glance at Marlene, and his mind was pulled back to the night they were all reunited. Maybe he needed to make time for a conversation with his brother, along with the time he was setting aside for Lily.

"Alright," Elias came back out of James' study. "If you must."

James nodded and forced himself to smile. "Thank you, Elias." He turned to Lily. "Shall we?"

Lily smiled like the morning sun and some of James' nerves calmed at the sight of it.

They walked in the room and with the click of the door latch they were alone.

James refused to stand awkwardly at the door and pushed himself to guide Lily to the chair at his desk opposite his own.

"Would you like to pen the letter? I'm happy to write it if you'd rather surprise your sister all the more."

There, work; he could talk about work and still sound human.

Lily blinked and her smile dimmed a small fraction.

What was wrong with him? He'd managed to talk her ear off for hours on the road. How had that slipped through his fingers so quickly?

_Lack of practice_, a small in his head voice annoyingly volunteered.

Well, he'd promised her honesty. He might as well be blunt.

"I'm nervous." The words tasted metallic on his tongue.

"To write the letter?" Lily furrowed her brow.

James swallowed. "No, to try and figure out how to be us again."

Lily's face softened and she reached for him, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Me too."

Hearing those words seemed to calm the nerves trying to do his stomach in and James breathed out in relief.

He squeezed her hands in his. "It feels like forever since we actually talked. I never want to put Marlene through all that again, but I want to go back to those days we spent camped in the trees in Ottery letting her recover."

Lily's smile brightened and she stepped into him. "Remember the story you told me about Willamina, she was with the dressmakers and I forgot to mention the next morning, but she went on and on about you hiding in all the fabric and jumping out to yell 'ghost' at anyone who passed. Marlene and I laughed so hard she had to stop telling us about it so they all could get on to our dresses."

James laughed with her, and with how close Lily was to him, and the sound of her laughter, his nerves had no room to exist in that space with him.

"This is what's been missing," he pulled her into his arms, loving that he was holding her as she laughed, no tears in sight. "This is what we needed. Thank you for pulling my head out of the sand."

"I've missed you, James."

She smiled up at him and James thought he might die from the desire to kiss her.

"I've missed you, so, so much."

It would be easy. She was staring up at him, her chest rising and falling against his own, her green eyes mesmerizing and hypnotic, her lips parted just slightly. He could do it here, he could show her now, and he'd bet half the treasury she wanted it, wanted that kiss.

But James wanted her. And he wasn't positive she'd chosen him - yet.

So he compromised and took advantage of his height to press his lips to her hairline. The electricity coursed through him and James was briefly taken by the thought of what would happen if he went to kiss her properly. Kissing her hand had been one thing, kissing her cheek with everyone around them was another, but he was walking the wire kissing her so close to her perfect mouth without another being in sight.

Lily snuggled into his chest and James let her calm his rapid heartbeat.

"We should probably write that letter." She murmured into his shirt.

James hummed his agreement but made no attempt to move them in that direction.

"James?"

"We're doing this every day." He kissed her hairline again, letting his lips linger and trail down to her cheek. "I'll let a war start in order to have this time with you every day."

Lily's laugh was an airy sound and James found that he was not only happy, but his mind was calm for the first time in months.

"Alright," Lily took half a step back from him. "If we're doing this every day, we ought to write that letter so we can really enjoy ourselves. Petunia sucks the fun out of everything."

James chuckled, "Funny, you're the exact opposite."

She smirked up at him, "Flattery might just get you everywhere, James."

"As long as it gets me to you."

Lily stepped back from him as she laughed and James knew he wasn't going to make it much longer. Making this time alone with Lily a daily occurrence meant it was only a matter of time before he'd give in and kiss her, whether she'd chosen him yet or not.


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll be back with chapters 55 and 56 on March 21st! I'm back to Saturday postings now, but if I get a ton of writing done I could potentially be posting periodically throughout the next couple of weeks. I suddenly find myself with some downtime with my lovely children and wonderful husband. :)

**Marlene:**

Marlene watched Sirius pluck at the fraying thread on his shirt. She understood it had been quite the discussion between Sirius and Remus about resuming his post, but Sirius had won out in the end. After Sirius resumed his position as James' guardian, Marlene's days became much more entertaining. It made the dull meetings pass faster to joke and whisper with him. She had been fond of Elias, but having Sirius back made the palace feel more like home. With the caveat that it also left her bed quite a bit colder.

She could tell Sirius felt it too, the change in their time together. He found every inconspicuous moment he could to reach out and touch her. And Marlene found herself subconsciously doing the same. His conversation would often skim the edge of it too. The daily hour that James and Lily stayed in James' study, Sirius would usually talk about the future or how things would change once their charges figured themselves out and were married.

"Do you think they'll have a spring wedding?" He brushed the back of his hand against hers.

"Spring is nice, lots of colors outside and plenty of flowers available."

"Spring weddings seem to be a thing." Sirius looked up and down the corridor as if he was waiting for something.

"Probably because winter tends to make people hole up indoors for warmth, so the moment they can go outside without fear of freezing to death they want a legitimate reason to celebrate." Marlene watched amused as Sirius continued to scan the corridor.

"Anything is a legitimate reason to celebrate, Marly."

"I think the idea is to have something special." Marlene nodded to the runner as he walked past them and turned at the end of the corridor.

She managed not to shriek as Sirius pressed her back into the wall and brought his lips to hers. It had only been a bit more than a week since Sirius had resumed his post, but as Sirius' mouth and hands moved over her Marlene would have sworn it had been years.

"I've missed you," she let the whispered words fall from her lips as she splayed her hands across this chest.

"I'm half tempted to lock the two of them in James' bedroom and force their marriage. That or ban this corridor from anyone else during this hour." Sirius drug his lips down her neck.

"I'm honestly surprised they've managed to maintain themselves this long."

Sirius hummed against her skin and Marlene pressed against the wall behind her to keep upright.

"We're going to get caught."

"I don't care," Sirius kissed her lips. "Face it Marly, we're making history."

"What if it's in the worst way?"

Sirius pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. Marlene let her fingers curl around the fabric of his shirt as the anxiety she'd been able to quell when Sirius shared her bed finally bubbled over into the open.

"Marlene, who is going to stop us? James and Lily will be thrilled. Lily practically commanded us to be together a couple of weeks ago. Our oaths are no different than their station. It's up to you and me who we want to be with."

Marlene bit her lip and pulled tighter on Sirius' shirt.

"But isn't the whole point of not allowing marriage to keep guardians from doing exactly what we're doing?"

"Then they should have forbidden love instead of marriage." Sirius brought a hand up to touch her face. "We're rewriting the rules, Marls, we're changing the game. I'll call it destiny, I'll call it whatever I have to, but I'm convinced that this is it. You've filled holes in me that I was convinced would never heal. I won't let anyone take this from us. I'm yours."

Marlene clung to his words with the same grip she held on his shirt. "What if it all falls apart?"

Sirius shook his head. "It won't."

"But what if it did?"

"Then I'd still be yours. Nothing can change that."

Marlene felt her anxiety ease a little at the fierceness behind his gray eyes.

"I love you."

He kissed her then, with an intensity that had Marlene seeing stars behind her eyelids.

And that was when they heard the click of the door latch. But to Marlene's shock, Sirius didn't pull back. If anything he increased his intensity for a moment. It wasn't until James cleared his throat that Sirius pulled back.

"Anything I can do for you, your Majesty?"

Marlene almost laughed at James' perplexed stare. She had to hand it to Sirius, he knew his brother like the back of his hand.

"I, er, I wasn't aware…"

Sirius smirked at him. "I thought you could use a demonstration. Help you to see how it's done."

James' face went bright red and Marlene tried not to laugh as she caught Lily's eye, a triumphant smile across her lips.

James took a deep breath, "You're maddening, you know?"

"I'm allowed to be maddening, I keep you alive."

James huffed before turning to Lily and extending his arm. "Shall we move back into the real world?"

"I don't know," Lily bit her lip as she grinned. "Maybe Marly and Sirius have the right idea."

James managed to choke on air and Marlene felt sorry for him. The man was making a valiant effort to keep things proper between himself and Lily. But Lily was developing a habit of going after what she wanted. And Marlene was positive Lily only wanted one thing right now, and he was currently moving swiftly down the hall with Lily on his arm.

Sirius kissed Marlene softly once more before grabbing her hand and running to catch up to their charges.


	54. Chapter 54

**Lily:**

This was officially ridiculous. Lily felt incredibly close to James now. They spent far more time together, they laughed, they confided in each other, it was almost like none of the awfulness of the past months had happened at all. But James wouldn't do anything to move them forward, and Lily was at a loss for why. She didn't feel as though his feelings for her had changed, but his momentum from the months of traveling seemed to have fizzled out to a crawl.

Lily came into her rooms with Marlene at the end of the day and threw herself into her favorite chair.

"What's your secret?" She looked accusingly at Marlene.

Marlene chuckled. "Lils, why don't you tell James you want him to kiss you? I bet that would change his insistence on acting like you have an audience in the room with you."

"He should know by now. I came back didn't I?"

Marlene shook her head, "You came back with a fence around you. You told him you weren't sure if you loved him as King and that you were struggling with what he did as simply James. You told him you wanted to figure out if you loved him. I'd bet he's waiting for you to give him the go-ahead."

"But, while we were traveling he kept trying to sweep me off my feet."

"The rules were different when we were traveling together. You changed them when we got here."

Lily hated it when Marly was right.

"Well, now what? Do I close the door to his study and say 'I do love you, so stop acting like I'll explode if you kiss me'? That's really romantic."

Marlene laughed, "If that's the style you like then sure."

Lily frowned, "I'm being serious."

Marlene laughed and Lily shot her with a glare. "I hate his name."

"Lily, I love you, but the answer is pretty obvious. You need to let him know you love him, that you never stopped loving him."

"We were supposed to start over."

"That was a good way to get comfortable again, but Lily, did you honestly believe you could throw out everything you had before? You two were inseparable before Enid, not because we were traveling together, but because you wanted to be with each other. Forgive him for lying, tell him you love him, and set a wedding date."

Marlene's words made the whole situation seem childish.

"You told me in Enid you were done letting people act for you," Marlene added with a look that reminded Lily of when Elspeth found them doing something foolish.

And that felt like the nail in the coffin. Marly was right. Lily _had_ said she was taking control of her life. She wasn't going to let anyone decide for her and she wasn't running away. Which meant in this case that she needed to stop waiting around for James to do something.

"Why is this easier for you and Sirius?"

Marlene sighed, "What Sirius and I have is just hard in different ways than you and James."

"Yes, snogging in the corridor is much harder." Lily laughed but paused when Marlene didn't join her.

"I'm sorry."

"You're fine," Marlene pushed her palm against her forehead and closed her eyes. "We're playing with fire, Sirius and I. Our oaths forbid us from marrying, they keep us baren, but they say nothing about love or having whatever we have. But the magic behind them is complex and ancient and I'm just waiting for the floor to be pulled out from under us."

"What if it doesn't? What if you and Sirius get to live out the rest of your lives happily ever after?"

"Guardians don't do this, Lils."

"There's a first for everything. Wouldn't it be better to be the ones who go down in flames trying to make things better for the future? I hate that you can't simply protect me. That you have to give up everything in the name of keeping me safe. What if you two being together was the catalyst that made things change for the better?"

Marlene smiled, "It all sounds rather noble when you put it that way."

"I'll get James to decree it or something if it makes you feel better."

"That has to be the most princess thing you've said in months." Marlene teased.

"What good is being a princess if I can't do nice things for my sister?"

"Thank you, Lily."

"Thank you," Lily pulled her sewing to her. "Now to figure out how to tell James, well, everything."

"What if we did something different tomorrow? You don't have to stay in James' study. I know it's freezing outside, but I'm sure we could find some sort of change of scenery for you, and that might give you the push to say some of that 'everything' you're talking about."

Lily grinned as an idea started to take hold. "Is it really so cold out?"

"I don't know, I haven't been out today. But I'm told the snow should fly any day now."

"Are you up for some warming spells?"

"What do you have in mind?"

Lily smiled, "Horseback riding."


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 57 and 58 go up on March 28th.

**Sirius:**

"You're awful, you know?" James accused, as they sat down in his sitting room with Remus and Peter at the end of the day.

Sirius grinned, "I've never tried to hide it."

"What's he awful about this time?" Pete poured a goblet from the decanter.

"I'm maneuvering trying to win back Lily and he's in the corridor snogging the life out of Marlene."

Remus' eyes went huge and Sirius braced himself for the fallout.

"Marlene scares me a bit," Peter spoke before Remus could. "She's not much taller than a page boy but I've seen the weapon collection she requested after they got here. I have a feeling she could filet me alive if she found it necessary."

"That she could," Sirius couldn't keep the grin from his face.

Merlin! She was something!

"Just don't upset her, Sirius," Pete shook his head. "I don't want to figure out how to get you out of whatever torture scenario she cooks up."

"Is this wise, Sirius?" Remus asked in what Sirius had dubbed his forced neutral tone - that was anything but neutral.

He rolled his eyes, here it was, the lecture. The Healer in Remus often forgot that he was really only qualified to boss everyone around with their health, not the rest of their lives.

"You have oaths to uphold and she's bound to Lily. If Lily decides to leave, where does that leave the two of you?"

"Can we not talk about Lily leaving as a viable option?" James glared at Remus. "I'm doing everything I can to show her that's the worst option she has."

Sirius kept his face bored. "I'm just making history, Rems, changing my stars, choosing my own destiny, take your pick."

"Sirius, you're playing with a rattlesnake."

"Marlene's dangerous, but she's much more attractive than a snake, Remus."

"That isn't what I meant," Remus started again but Sirius cut him off.

"I know what you're going for here, Remus, and I'm not changing my mind. We're both aware that some hidden consequences could exist, but I spent years digging into the magic of my oath and I'm willing to lay it on the line that we'll be fine."

"You're fine gambling your life? And hers?" Remus shook his head. "Please be careful, Sirius. It nearly killed me when I saw you in Enid. Please don't make me be the one to sign off on your confirmation of death, I don't think I could live with that."

Sirius blinked. That was not where he thought the conversation was going.

"He'll be careful, Remus," James handed him a goblet. "When you see them together, you'll be able to tell this isn't a game for them."

"Right," Sirius cleared his throat, feeling thrown off by Remus' fatalistic viewpoint. But even if this did cost him and Marlene their lives, Sirius found himself rather calm about it. Now that he'd had this time with her, now that he'd given everything to her, life without Marlene was unacceptable. If this killed him, so be it.

"Wait, so why does Sirius being with Marlene make him awful?" Peter set his goblet on the little table beside his chair.

James groaned, "Because he's rubbing it in my face that I can't have that."

"Of course you can," Sirius scoffed. "Step right up next to her and kiss her. It helps if you hold her as well."

James glared at him. "I can't and you know it. I'm not going to make any move until I know she's sorted out her feelings on whether or not she loves me."

"Of course she does," Peter furrowed his brow, "she came back to you."

James fisted a hand in his hair. "I don't know, Pete."

"She wanted time alone with you," Remus added.

"You could always ask her." Sirius reached for the decanter.

"What a lovely conversation topic," James rolled his eyes, "Hello Lily, would you fancy telling me if you've sorted through your emotions yet? I'm going insane not moving this forward."

"You could always suffer in silence." Sirius shrugged. "I'll just keep timing it so you walk out of your study to me showing you everything you're missing out on."

"Please not everything," Peter groaned. "I want to know I can walk the corridors in peace."

Sirius grinned, "Fine, for you Pete, I'll keep it from getting too interesting."

"Play nice, Sirius," Remus grinned.

"You only want me to play nice with James because you don't want him coming to you with a stomach ulcer from all his fussing."

Remus laughed and James groaned just as the runner knocked before coming into the room.

"A note for you Master Sirius." Timothy handed Sirius a folded piece of paper.

Sirius thanked him and grinned at Marlene's crisp penmanship.

"What is it?" James picked up his goblet.

"Brush up on your warming spells," Sirius slid the paper into his pocket after reading it. "Your regular hour with Lily tomorrow will be spent on horseback."

"You're going to freeze," Peter shook his head. "I stepped out this afternoon and could see my breath."

James gaped at Sirius.

"You'll catch flies looking like that, your Majesty," Sirius chuckled.

James glared at him but clamped his mouth shut.


	56. Chapter 56

**James:**

It had been torturous. Waiting all night, and then still having their morning meetings on top of that, but finally, they'd made it. Finally, they'd changed into warmer riding clothes and we're walking to the stables. Finally, he was going to find out what had pushed Lily to change their regular time together.

Sirius hummed as they walked out of the palace.

"What?" James turned to his brother, but he was looking at Marlene.

No surprise.

"If we're quick?" She wore a frown as she looked back at Sirius.

"Quick about what?" Lily asked.

Sirius pointed off into the distance. "Those look like storm clouds. That might be our first snow."

Lily grinned, "I love snow!"

"It snows differently up this high, Lils." Marlene frowned. "It won't be the light dusting we get back in Privet that melts the next day."

James held back his groan. "Maybe we should postpone this. Marlene is right, our snowstorms can be unforgiving and it's cold enough that it sticks and builds up quickly."

"Couldn't we just go out for an hour?"

Lily looked at Marlene with an expression that James could only call pleading. Was she really feeling so cooped up? Perhaps she needed this more than they all realized.

"Maybe just a quick ride?" He looked at Sirius who was staring at the clouds.

"We could bring a few things?" Marlene looked hesitantly at the clouds. "And stay close to the palace?"

"Alright," Sirius nodded after a moment. "Let me grab a few things and then we'll head out."

James watched Sirius nod to Marlene before moving quickly back to the palace.

The stable boys walked out with their horses then and James tried to distract himself from the foreboding feeling the clouds in the distance were giving him.

"Did you ride much in Privet?" James took Lily's hand and led her to the old mare his mother had been so fond of.

"Mostly when I was a girl, not much after I moved in with Marly." She slid her foot in the stirrup as James helped her up and into the saddle.

"My parents aren't big fans of all the effort that goes into caring for horses," Marlene chuckled.

James frowned, "Isn't your father a nobleman?"

"Yes, but he doesn't like to have more servants than necessary. Plus horses cost money, and as Vernon and Petunia made more decrees about magic users it started to squeeze the money out of us. My parents put as much of our extra as they could into helping the common magic users. The decrees put some of them into poverty."

James bristled, "This is no reflection on you, Lily, but I kind of want to start a war with your sister."

Lily laughed, "That's the story of my life."

"Alright," Sirius came out and handed Marlene a pack. "Let's have a bit of exercise and then get back here before those clouds get any ideas about unleashing a white hell on us."

Once they started riding, James' cares started to fade away with the wind that whipped around them. It felt like a dream to be riding with Lily beside him. Not even the necessity of having Sirius in front of them and Marlene behind them could dampen the feeling of freedom he only felt when he was out of the palace and away from the title he inherited. They'd been riding for about a half an hour when he had an idea.

"Sirius," he called and reigned in, "Let's show these beautiful ladies the lake."

Sirius looked back at the clouds, "I don't know James."

"It's just over the next hill," James looked back at the clouds. Had they gotten closer?

"How about we go see the lake and then we'll head right back?" Lily smiled at Sirius.

"What do you think, Marls?" Sirius looked back at her and then Lily turned that pleading face back to her sister.

James watched as Marlene looked between the two, her bottom lip between her teeth. She turned to stare at the clouds a moment before speaking.

"Can you be quick, Lily?"

James blinked. Quick with what?

"Yes."

"Alright, Sirius," Marlene glanced back at the clouds again. "Let's go see the lake."

Sirius nodded and led them down to the lake that their parents had taken them to swim in when they were boys.

The lake was in a bit of a crater, the slope of the crater not too steep but steep enough that it blocked out the wind and the view of the surrounding plains. The ride down to the water took a couple of minutes, you had to go slowly on horseback, but James took advantage of the time to regale Lily with stories of him and Sirius and his parents with their guardians coming here in the summers.

As they made it to the water's edge Marlene took Lily's reigns. "We'll wait here."

Lily bit her lip but nodded.

"Would you walk with me?" Lily asked him as she dismounted.

James felt something akin to panic strike him. Was she going to leave him? Had she decided she couldn't be with him as a king? He pushed those feelings down far enough to force a smile and dismounted with her.

"I'd like nothing better."

He offered her his hand and she squeezed it as she took it in hers. After they'd walked far enough away to not be overheard, Lily stopped them and let go of him, turning to face him instead.

"I, er, I wanted to make this something special."

James nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he watched Lily wring her hands.

"I know that I probably made you feel like your hands were tied when I came back to you. I'm sorry about that. But I wanted to tell you that I've figured out that I'm not going anywhere. I do love you, James. I've loved you since we crossed into Ottery and I never stopped loving you, even after Enid."

James blinked.

She loved him!

Her words filled his chest like warm mead filling a tankard. James felt the smile on his face and he reached out, stepping forward to pull her close to his chest. He had promised her this would make her never want to leave, he promised it would make her realize this, what they had, was all she ever needed in life. And he wanted to savor this moment. He brought his hand gently to the silky, soft skin of her cheek, tracing the line of her jaw down to her chin. Her green eyes burned up at him, and she parted her lips as he tilted her head up just a fraction higher.

"I love you."

He said it quietly before pressing his lips to hers.

James thought he might die right there. Her lips were soft and cold. Her scent was intoxicating and her hands held onto his shoulders with a possessive grip that made his head spin. He tentatively reached his tongue out to brush her lips and smiled against her at the breathy sigh she gave him. She moved her arms to snake around his neck and pulled herself closer. James pulled her flush against him, loving the juxtaposition of her cold lips and her warm tongue as Lily warmed his frigid lips.

"James!"

James cursed his brother for breaking the spell that he and Lily had been weaving around them.

"Lily!"

Marlene's yell had a sense of urgency in it and Lily turned from him. James held back his groan and looked to see why their siblings were insistent on ruining what had been a perfect moment.

Marlene pointed up at the sky.

"Hurry!"

James looked up. The snow clouds were directly above them, and James had lived in this country long enough to see that they didn't have long before the snow would fall. There was no way they could make it back to the palace beforehand.


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 59 and 60 post on April 3rd. :)

**Marlene:**

The wind was biting cold as they galloped back towards James' palace. Neither Marlene nor Sirius had realized that the cloud bank had no end to it until it was on top of them and the entire sky was covered in a thick dark blanket.

Then the clouds broke open.

Sirius had told her about winters this far North, but as the snow began falling in thick flakes and the wind howled around them, Marlene determined he'd not been descriptive enough. Within minutes, she couldn't see farther than fifteen feet in front of her.

Lovely.

"Sirius!" She called through the wind but he didn't hear her as they pushed forward.

_He knows the way_, she reassured herself, _he has to_.

But the snowfall was increasing and suddenly Marlene was finding it difficult to see the five feet between her horse and Lily's. She couldn't risk losing them, and so she pushed her horse a little harder to fall in beside Lily. It left their back exposed but Marlene gambled that no one could attack them in this freezing nightmare.

The wind whipped at her face and her hands felt frozen in their grip on the reigns. Marlene's body was shivering uncontrollably but she didn't dare try to reach for her wand to warm herself with how fast they were riding. It was everything she could do to keep her eyes open as the snow blew into them, the ice crystals feeling like little knives cutting into her. Marlene grimaced through the pain and focused on keeping Lily to her right and Sirius in front of them.

It was a miracle she heard James yell at all as he went flying forward. Marlene was sure if James hadn't landed ahead of Sirius the man would have left his charge in the snow.

"James!"

Lily reigned her horse in so fast the poor mare's front hooves left the ground. She jumped and ran for him while Marlene scrambled to grab the mare's reigns to keep her from running off.

She looked back and saw James' horse was struggling to stand.

Marlene knew they were finished. They wouldn't go anywhere until this snow stopped and from the stories she'd been hearing that could easily be a couple of days. She slid off her horse and moved to where Sirius and Lily were crouched around James.

"I'm fine!" James shouted through the wind.

Marlene pulled her cloak closer around her, desperate to feel just an ounce of warmth. "Your horse isn't."

Sirius started swearing.

"Did you pack a tent?" Marlene pointed to his pack. She already checked to see if he'd thrown one in hers.

Sirius shook his head.

Marlene bit back her retort. This was as much her fault as his. They'd been selfish, wanting the happiness for their siblings that would, in turn, give them their own. Now they were stuck in a blizzard across open terrain.

"We'll have to build something," James pushed up out of the already accumulating snow.

"The snow isn't hard enough yet," Sirius shouted as he helped James to stand.

"We don't have a choice!"

James looked around a moment before shaking his head and stooping to the snow at his feet and packing it together. It crumbled instantly.

"It's too dry, James," Sirius shouted.

"Then let's add water!" Lily grabbed her wand and knelt next to James.

At first, she sprayed too much, and the snow around them turned to slush. But after a few goes, Lily and James had figured out the perfect amount of water to add to get the snow to stick to itself. Marlene pushed herself to keep moving through the shivering and the painful feeling of the cold pricking at her skin as she and Sirius started on building the other side of their shelter.

They'd finally managed to finish four walls after what had felt like hours, then James and Sirius moved to create a roof. Their little shelter wasn't tall enough for her to stand straight up in, but Sirius assured her that this was better.

"What about the horses?" Lily looked with concern at the four animals huddled around each other nearby.

"It's not cold enough to really bother them, and we feed them well." James packed more snow into their domed roof.

Marlene wished she could stop shaking. Why was she the only one shaking?

"Besides," Sirius wiped his brow and chuckled, "I have an oath to look after James, not his horse."

Her oath right, that was the thing to focus on right now. Marlene struggled with trembling hands to open her pack. She clenched her teeth together to keep them from chattering. Her mind felt fuzzy, but she kept moving as it was the only thing she could think to do.

Finally getting her pack open she looked inside and blinked. What was all this? The items were familiar, but she wasn't sure why.

"Marlene," Sirius looked over at her as they finished the roof. "Would you hand me the blankets in your pack?"

Marlene started down into the pack. Blankets?

"Marlene?"

She couldn't keep her jaw clenched tight enough and her teeth started chattering again. Her body shook and trembled as she tried to think. She knew that word. Blankets. She knew it was…it was... something…

"Marlene?"

She looked up from the pack to see Sirius crouched in front of her.

"S-sorry," her tongue suddenly felt heavy.

Sirius started swearing.


	58. Chapter 58

**Lily:**

Lily looked over with wide eyes as Sirius pulled the pack from Marlene's hands and immediately began removing her wet clothes, a steady stream of curses accompanying his frantic movements.

"What's wrong?!" Lily crawled over to her sister. Marlene's lips were tinted with a blue overcast and her whole body trembled.

"She's too cold!" Sirius tugged her boots off her feet.

Lily pulled her wand from her cloak and started casting warming charms over her sister. Marlene was staring off with unfocused eyes.

"But we're alright," Lily took the blanket James handed her and folded it to a good size before setting it on the wet ground next to Marlene.

"She's half all our size," Sirius picked her up and set her on the blanket before wrapping another around her shoulders.

"I don't understand." Lily kept casting the warming spells as James helped Sirius pile the last of the blankets over Marlene. "We were working hard to build this shelter. You and James had to take off your cloaks because you were working up a sweat."

"She probably was too cold before we started," Sirius cursed. "She doesn't have an ounce of reserve on her either. Her body had nothing to pull from."

Sirius knelt in front of Marlene and started slowly rubbing down her legs and feet under the blankets.

Lily felt the helplessness threaten to consume her.

"We'll get her warmed up, Lils," James moved to Marlene's other side and started casting warming spells. "That's all this is, we just need to warm her up."

Lily blinked back the tears that threatened and swallowed the lump in her throat as far down as she could.

Marlene mumbled something, but her speech was slurred and her eyes unfocused.

"Just try and relax, Marls," Sirius continued rubbing down her legs and feet. "We're going to get you warmed up."

They worked that way for what felt like an eternity. Lily was wired from the adrenaline that coursed through her and her body cried out in protest because she continued to sit right next to Marlene casting warming spell after warming spell, giving the adrenaline no outlet.

Finally, Marlene spoke in a clear but exhausted voice.

"I'm so sorry."

"Are you still shaking?" Sirius reached out and touched Marlene's face.

"No," Marlene pulled her legs against her chest. "I'm just exhausted now."

"Do we have anything to feed her, Sirius?" James moved for the two packs that they'd discarded once the blankets were out of them.

"Yeah, there's bread and cheese in my pack, it isn't warm but it'll have to do. We can't let her sleep without something in her stomach."

James returned with what Lily would have generously called a meager portion.

"Get her more than that," Lily moved towards the pack but James reached out and caught her.

"We've got to go slow, Lils. Her body is literally coming back from starting to freeze."

Lily bit her lip as Sirius took the small serving of food and handed tiny pieces to Marlene.

Lily's head pounded and her chest hurt. She needed something to distract her. Her body was running on overdrive with no outlet. She looked around for something, anything to focus on.

Marly's wet clothes were thrown off to one side of their little shelter and Lily chose her task. She crawled over to the small pile before taking her wand and quadruple drying each item, inspecting it thoroughly. Once she was satisfied that everything was dry, she then started warming all of it, saving Marly's boots for last.

"Here, Sirius," she levitated the warmed stack to him. "They're dry and warm. She should be a lot better off in these."

Sirius took them and smiled before starting to help Marlene dress and take her from the blankets she'd been wrapped in. Once he'd finished, Marlene pulled her cloak close and yawned.

"I'm sorry."

"You've nothing to be sorry for," Sirius pulled her into him. "The cold out here is brutal."

"And you're barely bigger than a page boy," James added.

"Are you alright," Lily crouched next to Marlene.

Marlene yawned but nodded. "I'm warm now, and exhausted."

Lily looked up at Sirius, desperate for more to do. "Should we set up a place for her to sleep?"

Sirius nodded, but he narrowed his gaze at her.

"Why don't you let me do that, and you and James can eat something."

"I'm fine," Lily shook her head.

James moved next to her. "Let's get you some food, Lils."

"I can help get a bed set up." Lily reached for a blanket but James caught her arm.

"Let me go!"

Lily blinked, had she just shouted?

"Lils," James moved closer to her, "Marlene is fine now. She's alright. We're going to be ok."

"I, I," Lily felt her control slipping.

"Come on, love," James wrapped his arms around her.

And then her control broke.

Lily clung to James as the adrenaline poured out of her through heavy tears.


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking next week off for Holy Week and Easter, but I'll be back with four chapters on April 18th.

**Sirius:**

"Do I need to worry about you as well?" Sirius asked James as he conjured cots for them.

"Nah," James shook his head. "Lily telling me she loves me was a decent barrier to the stress."

James moved a sleeping Lily from his arms to the cot.

"What about you?"

Sirius shook his head. "Very little gets to me after how I grew up."

James sighed and pulled a chunk of bread off the loaf. "There are days I want to march into Knockturn and throw your parents into one of my dungeons."

Sirius pushed away his feelings on it. Mia had sat him down one day and got him to tell her his whole rotten childhood. It had taken hours, but once they'd hashed through it all, Mia pulled him into a hug and told him he could let the past go now. He worked daily to do just that.

"Has it let up at all?"

James turned to look out one of the small holes in their shelter to look, "Not a bit."

Sirius sighed, "Remus is going to be livid."

"Remus has spent most of our friendship livid with me about something." James chuckled.

"Ah, well," Sirius grinned.

"Did anyone get a chance to look at Prongs?" James handed the loaf to Sirius.

"No, I had been intending to until I saw Marlene's blue lips. And then Lily was starting to go frantic on us and I completely forgot about the horses."

"I hope he can at least walk. I can ride with Lily, but if he can't walk then I don't want to leave him out here."

Sirius ran a tired hand over his face. "Let's worry about that once we actually know what's going on. Right now, I'm going to set the wards and then try to get some sleep."

Sirius set some pretty intense wards, feeling his own exhaustion keenly. And after ensuring that Marlene was still warm and Lily was still asleep and James was settled, Sirius let the exhaustion take him.

"Ho the camp!"

Sirius bolted up from his cot and snatched his wand, realizing that Marlene was moving in the same fashion.

Was that sunlight filtering in?

"Easy," he cautioned her.

She rolled her eyes at him and he grinned.

"Ho the camp!" The voice called out again.

"Is that Peter?" James asked as Sirius looked out one of the holes they'd made to keep air moving through their little hideaway.

"Whoever it is they've got your banners, James." Sirius blinked from the sunlight hitting his eyes.

"Let's go out then," Lily moved to break open a door.

"No Lils," Marlene moved to look out one of the other holes. "Not until we know who they are."

"Stay here," Sirius moved to the ground and used his wand to break open an exit just big enough for him to belly crawl out of.

The sunlight made his eyes burn a bit but Sirius adjusted quickly.

"Good morning," Sirius called out.

"Sirius!" One of the riders called out and moved forward.

"Pete?"

Peter dismounted and looked furtively around. "Can I get close? I don't want to set anything off."

Sirius laughed, and it felt so good to laugh after the day and night they'd had.

"Come on over, Pete." Sirius laughed. "Let's get our sovereign and his bride home."

"His bride?" Peter walked slowly towards him.

"You didn't think I'd risk this if it wasn't for something worth it, did you?"

"Oh, well, I, Remus, he," Peter stammered.

"Go check on James' horse," Sirius signaled the small group of James' soldiers forward. "If you can get him to walk back to the stables I'll call us even."

Peter chuckled, "You got it, Sirius."

Sirius turned and opened up a proper size opening to their little shelter.

"Rescue party is here."

Marlene came out, her wand held out in front of her.

"Are you warm enough?" He let his hand brush her arm.

"For the moment," she pulled her cloak tightly around her.

"When we get back, promise me you'll get some warm broth or something."

Marlene put her hands on her hips and stared him down.

"You're starting to sound like my mother."

Sirius didn't even think. He moved to her and pulled her into his arms before kissing her for the whole world to see.

"Please stop scaring me," he murmured against her. "I need you here."

Marlene pulled closer to him. "I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask." He kissed her again, wishing for all the world they weren't in the middle of a frozen plain with an audience.

"Ha!" Peter cheered. "Prongs is up and walking Sirius!"

Sirius rested his forehead against Marlene's, "We have got to get them married."

Marlene's smile went just a touch sad.

"Let's get James and Lily home." She stepped back from him and moved to her horse.


	60. Chapter 60

**James:**

"I swear, James, I'm going to resign." Remus pulled him into a tight hug.

"You'd never abandon me," James chuckled as he brought Lily back under his arm.

Remus huffed but James didn't miss the smile that pulled on his lips.

"Let's go to your study and I'll fill you in on what you missed." Remus turned from the stables. "I've already ordered for some stew and warm cider to be brought up for the four of you."

James smiled at the warmth from the fireplace of his study and the smell of warm food once they'd walked in.

"Alright, Rems, Pete," James pulled out Lily's chair, "What happened in the last twenty-two hours?"

"Not a lot," Pete shrugged. "The few people in the palace that knew just spent that time panicking that their King was missing in the storm."

"I'll dine with the court tonight and take care of damage control." James felt like he was becoming far too proficient at that particular skill.

"Mostly we rescheduled all the meetings you had, so the next few days will be pretty busy." Peter handed James a paper with his new schedule listed out.

James sighed and took a long drink from his warm cider. The next few days were going to be nightmarish.

"We'll make it work, James," Lily squeezed his hand.

James felt a layer of his anxiety lift and he brought her hand to his lips to kiss her fingers, grinning at her blush.

He was about to suggest they steal a private hour when there was a knock at the door.

The door opened and Marlene gasped before running to the woman standing behind Timothy.

"Your Majesty, may I present the Lady Elspeth McKinnon, messenger from Queen Petunia of Privet."

Lily jumped up and rushed the woman at the door.

"My girls!" Lady McKinnon wrapped her arms around Marlene and Lily, and James felt jealousy pull at his heart. What he wouldn't give to have his mother back?

James blinked at how similar the older woman was to Marlene. Her hair had streaks of white through her golden curls, but she was the same height and the same build as her daughter. No one would question the relationship between these two. But James was taken aback at how Lily clung to this small woman. Lily had spoken some of spending her time with the McKinnon's, but it wasn't until he saw her with Marlene's mother did he start to really grasp what this family meant to her.

"Welcome, Lady McKinnon."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Lady McKinnon curtsied deeply when her daughters stepped back.

"Were you alright in the snow?" Lily asked.

"Oh yes, Queen Petunia sent me with an escort to carry all of your things and that came with tents and plenty of food."

"You brought my things?"

James chuckled at how Lily's face lit up in excitement.

"Everything but your tiara," she nodded, "Petunia wouldn't hear of that."

Marlene burst out laughing.

"Lily already has her tiara, Mum. I managed to translocate it here shortly after we made it to Godric's Hollow."

Elspeth chuckled and shook her head. "There's so much of your father in you it scares me some days."

"Lady McKinnon," James motioned Timothy to get a chair, "the majority of my Privy council is currently here. Would you be willing to give us a better picture of what's going on right now in Privet? Our information is scarce and unclear."

Elspeth smiled as she took a seat in the chair Timothy brought over. "Of course, your Majesty."

"We understand you're part of the resistance work against these ridiculous proclamations."

"Yes, we've been trying to show our monarchy how much magic and non-magic users have integrated together and now rely upon each other."

"Is it working?" Remus asked.

"I think we're at least getting their attention. But food is going to be scarce come Spring, and that's the main part of our plan. Privets' soil is rocky and more like clay, so magic users make a decent living tampering with the soil for farming."

"Oh no," Peter's eyes went wide, "How will anyone eat?"

Sirius, however, was grinning at Marlene, "I can see where your cleverness comes from."

"Anyway," James rolled his eyes, "Do you think the lack of food will pressure the crown enough to get them to change?"

"That's what we're going for," Elspeth nodded.

"What if it doesn't work?" Lily bit her lip. "Vernon and Petunia might just decide to take everything from the magic users and make the non-magic users get by on it."

"You can't squeeze blood from a stone," Marlene huffed. "We were already trying to keep the common magic community out of poverty."

"Come here," James interrupted. "If your plan doesn't work, come here. I'll get King Cornelius to open a passage for all of you, and King Arthur would be happy to help set up many of you as well. We can't offer the nobles titles, but we can get them and everyone else homes and a new start."

Elspeth smiled, "Thank you, your Majesty. We'll let that be known through the community."

"Why don't we get Lady McKinnon settled in some rooms," Remus looked out the window. "Then I'm ordering you four to take it easy the rest of the day."

"Take it easy?" Elspeth looked at Marlene.

Marlene sighed, "You don't want to know."


	61. Chapter 61

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back, with four chapters as promised! I'm working hard to make sure that everything goes up when it's supposed to, but I recently became a multi-grade school teacher for the rest of the school year on top of everything else, so be warned that I might not be balancing my plates as well as I think I am. Next chapter should go up on April 25th.

**Marlene:**

This was a dream. It had to be. Having her mum here after everything that happened to get them to Godric's Hollow made Marlene's emotions spin around themselves in her heart.

"Are you sure you don't want your own rooms?" James frowned.

"I've been deprived of my daughters for months. I'd just end up in their rooms anyway, your Majesty. Marlene's bed is plenty big enough for two people."

Marlene almost choked on her mother's words and Sirius winked at her.

"If you're sure," James looked at all the chests that had been brought in and Sirius chuckled.

"You'll have plenty to do with all of these. His Majesty and I will see you all at dinner then."

Sirius brushed his hand along the back of her waist before he pulled a reluctant James away from kissing Lily's hand and out the door.

"Now," her mum took a seat and opened one of Lily's chests, "Tell your dear mother what in the world has happened."

"It's a long story," Marlene hedged.

"It'll pass the time," Marlene heard the no-nonsense edge in her mother's voice.

"It'll be fun, Marly," Lily opened another chest and smiled when she found one of her favorite gowns.

Fun for Lily maybe, but Marlene didn't necessarily want her mother to know how poorly she'd done as Lily's guardian.

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" Elspeth smiled at Marlene.

Thankfully, Lily did just that. Marlene was never so grateful that Lily had been more or less oblivious to much of what had gone on between Sirius and herself. But that didn't make Lily's description of the attack at the Ottery border or the one in Enid any easier to hear. Especially with what happened yesterday. The whole telling seemed only to solidify in Marlene's mind how much she failed as Lily's guardian. How selfish she was and how it had put her charge in mortal danger more than once.

"So, now that James knows I love him," Lily continued, "I think he'll go back to the way things were before Enid. Though we might have to discuss what happens next."

Marlene smirked, "If the man can't figure out what happens next then I might smack him upside the head."

"Please," Lily rolled her eyes, "With you and Sirius practically modeling it for him when we walk out of his study it's not going to be a hard jump. But I'm talking about the politics of it."

Marlene felt her face get hot and she kept her gaze focused on the gown she was hanging in Lily's wardrobe. Up until that moment, Lily had left out the fact that Marlene and Sirius were far more than traveling companions.

"I think that does it for all of your things, Lily," Marlene heard her mum close the other wardrobe. "Why don't you rest while Marlene and I take care of her things."

Lily yawned and Marlene turned to see her rubbing her eyes. "I am a bit worn down now that you mention it. Must be from all the excitement of yesterday. I'll take a quick kip and then help the two of you with the rest."

"Of course, dear. Let her rest, Marlene." Elspeth strode out the door and Marlene watched Lily curl up under her covers before she slipped out the door and shut it quietly.

"You made her tired." Marlene faced her mum.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you and this won't hurt her feelings nor put you in a spot of trying to decide if she's safe or not while we talk privately." She sat on Marlene's bed and patted the space next to her. "Come, sit with me."

Marlene wanted to groan. It was like she was ten-years-old again. But she did move to sit next to her mother.

To Marlene's surprise, her mum wrapped her in a hug and held her close for several quiet moments.

"I have missed you, so very much," Were her mum's whispered words that broke the silence.

"I've missed you too." Marlene bit back the threatening tears. "Back when I moved into the palace with Lily, I hated not being with you and Dad and Catherine."

"I'm proud of you," Elspeth pulled back, "You've done more than anyone had the right to ask of you. You've become an amazing woman, my Marly."

Marlene shook her head, "I've all but failed, Mum. I've let my selfishness put her in danger. I've been careless and left myself incapable of protecting her, and when I wasn't incapacitated I was the reason why others were suffering. I was the wrong choice for her guardian."

Her mum blinked at her before shaking her head. "Oh, Marly, you've got it all wrong."

"You weren't there," Marlene protested, "I came dangerously close to leaving Lily unprotected in Ottery. Lily tells a pretty story but the fact is that without Sirius and James she would have been without protection for days, maybe weeks, maybe forever. And at Enid, she would have died if not for Sirius taking the hit for her. And yesterday..."

"Marlene," her mum put her hands on her shoulders, "I need you to listen very closely. Making you Lily's guardian was a political move that your father had to keep me from killing people for even suggesting it. The magic users wanted to protect Lily from Petunia, they weren't worried about anyone else. The noblemen who came up with the idea thought it would give us an inside view of the changes Petunia was making while also tying Petunia's hands with Lily's fate. None of them thought you'd ever need to actually uphold your oath. They badgered your father and me for months over it and when we continued to refuse they made a move to approach you directly but your dad intercepted them. That's when he took you aside and explained what that option looked like." Her mum smiled, "We didn't count on you being for the idea."

Marlene stared at her mum in shock. "You and Dad didn't want me to become Lily's guardian?"

"We didn't realize how loyal you were to our little princess." Elspeth smiled at her fondly. "When your dad explained the sacrifices you'd make, everything you'd lose, we thought you'd say no. But you agreed to it all if it kept Lily safe. And before we could really try and talk you out of it, Petunia demanded Lily's return. If I could go back I'd have fought for more time from Petunia. I would have pushed for all of us to lie and say we'd made you her guardian when we hadn't. I'd change so much if I could, my Marly."

Marlene stared at her mother as the words washed over her.

"I'm so sorry, Marlene. If anyone has failed, it's me. I failed you."

"No," Marlene shook her head, "you didn't fail me! You and Dad, you're the reason I thought I could do this in the first place."

Elspeth gave Marlene a watery smile and pulled her into a hug. For a long time, they held each other, and Marlene let herself bask in the feeling of being ten-years-old wrapped in her mother's embrace.

"On to happier things then," Her mum said when they finally pulled back, "tell me about Sirius,"

Marlene sighed, "I'm a fool."

Her mum shook her head, "I don't think so. He looks at you like you're the brightest star in the sky."

"I let myself fall in love with him and that's why I almost froze to death yesterday, and why he almost died in Enid, and why I killed a man at the Ottery border."

"That's a very different story from what Lily told me just moments ago."

"Well, Lily doesn't seem to be able to see me as I actually am." Marlene summoned a chest to her feet and started sorting through her things.

"Or maybe you're being too hard on yourself."

Marlene felt those words hit her square in the chest, but she pushed them away and focused on her point.

"Sirius is wonderful. I love him. I want to be with him. But we don't get that unless James and Lily end up married, and yesterday I let Lily wanting to tell James she loved him be my excuse for putting us in danger. What if it had been Lily who started to freeze? What if James had broken his neck when his horse kicked him off? What if we hadn't been able to build a shelter? I wanted so much to have Sirius that I risked our lives for it, Mum!"

"And what about the rest of your little group? James and Sirius knew the risks better than you did. They grew up here. Wouldn't this be their fault?"

Marlene bristled. "They had no way of knowing the storm would engulf us."

"Just like you?" Her mum smiled at her and Marlene looked down at the little dagger in her hand.

"Please, Marlene, give yourself some credit. Believe that you are good. Believe you are capable. Believe that not everything is your fault. And most important," her mother's hands wrapped around her own, "believe that it's good for you to be happy. If that happiness is with Sirius, don't give up on it. And most importantly, don't talk yourself out of it."

Marlene felt the tears threatening and squeezed the small sheathed dagger.

"What if it all falls apart? What if it gets us both killed? What if it kills Lily and James?"

"What if you got to live happily ever after?" Her mum slipped the dagger from her hands. "What if it gave you the happiness your father and I failed to protect for you?"

Marlene felt the first tear slide down her cheek.

"You are worth your own happiness, my Marly."

Her hold on her emotions broke and Marlene willingly curled into her mother's arms. For the first time in her short twenty years, Marlene chose to believe that she had worth outside of her abilities and that she could have happiness. Even if it didn't look the way she might have thought it would originally, even if it wasn't what the world around her thought she should have, even if it made the history books in the worst way, she was going to choose her own happiness.


	62. Chapter 62

**Lily:**

"Lily, darling, it's time to get up."

Lily blinked, trying to come out of the lovely dream she'd been having. Opening her eyes she smiled as Elspeth brushed her fingers against Lily's cheek.

"Did I sleep long?" She sat up and stretched.

"Just a touch, but after yesterday I say you earned it."

Lily chuckled and then remembered something she'd wanted to do since she left Enid.

"I'm sorry, Elspeth. If I'd listened to you and Angus this never would have been so awful for everyone."

Elspeth pulled her close and chuckled. "We've always loved your sense of adventure, Lily. I'm happy it worked in your favor. You could have just as easily ended up dead on the side of the road. I'm grateful we have you happy and safe here with someone who's going to look after you and Marly."

Lily grinned. "Do you think you'd be able to come back in the Spring with Angus and Catherine?"

"Of course we will." Elspeth chuckled. "Depending on how your sister handles everything, we might just come to stay."

"She's the worst." Lily groaned. "You'd love it here though! I'm sure James would insist you live here with us at the palace."

Elspeth laughed and stood, "We'll see what happens. But for now, pick out something nice to wear and let's do something suitable with your hair."

That was something Lily had missed since moving away from the McKinnon's. Elspeth, Marlene and Catherine had golden curls that didn't practically allow for their hair to be arranged in the intricate plaits Lily's straight auburn hair did. And from the moment Lily moved in, Elspeth took a great deal of joy in arranging Lily's hair in beautifully intricate styles.

"It's gorgeous!" Lily gaped at her reflection in the hand mirror she held.

Elspeth studied her work before turning to Marlene. "Is it too much?"

"Just make it known that you won't be doing any other ladies' hair and it should be alright." Marlene chuckled.

Lily watched her grin grow across her face. "James is going to die."

"I'd rather not go to the chopping block for regicide, if it's all the same to you." Elspeth laughed. "But I'm glad you like it."

Lily couldn't stop grinning. Her dream during her short nap had surrounded James kissing her like his life depended on it. And looking at her reflection in the mirror, Lily didn't think that would be such a hard dream to make reality.

"Should we pull her away from her reflection?" Elspeth faux whispered.

"I don't know, princesses might need to see their reflection for a certain amount of time each day or they turn into toads." Marlene chuckled.

"They have that in common with Kings then." Sirius came into their sitting room with James hot on his heels.

Lily stopped herself just before she laid into Marlene and turned to see exactly the kind of reaction she was hoping for from James. He looked like he'd been about to lay into Sirius until he saw her. But now he was rooted to the floor, eyes wide with his mouth partially open.

"Wow."

Lily felt her cheeks grow hot. "Thank you."

He cleared his throat and his hand shot into his hair. "Shall, er, shall we join the court for dinner?"

Lily grinned, she rather enjoyed having this effect on James.

"It would be a waste not to let everyone admire Lady McKinnon's handy work," she brought a delicate hand to her hair, "Don't you agree?"

James grinned and stepped right next to her chair, offering his hand. "A shame indeed, perhaps you'll allow me to admire it more fully later on?"

It was Lily's turn to stutter.

"Alright children," Elspeth chuckled, "There will be time enough for all that later on."

Lily bit her lip to keep from giggling and took James' hand.

"Do you enjoy torturing me, your Highness?" James whispered.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, your Majesty," Lily smirked and James nearly growled.

"I have a few things in my study to look over this evening," James pulled her closer, "Could I persuade you to join me?"

"A private audience, your Majesty?" Lily felt like her heart was going to fly out of her chest.

"Only if your Highness doesn't find it too forward," James smirked at her.

"On the contrary, your Majesty," Lily squeezed his arm, "It sounds perfect."

"I think I'll retire early tonight my dears," Elspeth chuckled behind them. "I suddenly find myself a bit tired."

"Mum," Marlene laughed.

"Be nice to your mum," Sirius grinned back at them. "She's had a long journey after all."

Lily shared a smile with James. Everything felt so much better, so much more like it had before it all fell apart on them. And for the first time since the forest outside of Enid, Lily believed her happily ever after was within her grasp.


	63. Chapter 63

**Sirius:**

James shut the door to his study after dinner and Sirius turned to Marlene and pulled her into him.

"You look happier than you did this morning."

She rested her head against his chest and sighed before side-stepping his comment completely.

"Tell me about you becoming James' guardian."

Sirius tilted his head to try and see her face. Something about her tone was different, but Sirius wasn't sure exactly how.

"Why, exactly?"

"Curiosity."

"Well," Sirius started as he tried again to catch her eye. "You know I ran away from Knockturn and my parents, then James and his parents took me in as a second son. The rest of the nobility, however, didn't see me as someone who needed a home. One of the nicer theories was that I was a spy."

Marlene tightened her grip around his middle and Sirius felt a smile pull on his lips.

"Monty had the idea that if they made me James' guardian, no one would be able to question my loyalty. I wasn't about to go back to Knockturn and didn't have any plans for more for my future, so I agreed. I'd been planning to live in the forest along the border when I ran away. So it gave me some direction and purpose, but I would have protected James with my life regardless. The guardian's oath just made it official for me."

"So it was a political move." Marlene's voice vibrated against his chest.

"I suppose it was, at least in the end. But it wasn't for me. For me, it, well, it felt like something I had been called to do, something I needed to do, for me as much as it was for James."

"I think I understand." She finally looked up at him.

"So why, really, did you ask about how I ended up protecting James?" He brushed his lips against Marlene's hairline.

"I found out today that me becoming Lily's guardian was more or less chance and poor timing in the politics of Privet." She shook her head. "I had always thought I'd been selected for my ability and talent. I felt like I had something to live up to, the expectations of everyone who I thought had chosen me. Now, well, now I feel like I've sort of been released from that hold."

Sirius hummed thoughtfully. "That makes a lot more sense as to why your training was so different from mine. You didn't have the training to handle the mental and emotional stress. Or the knowledge of the magic of our oath."

"I was made Lily's guardian the day before we had to move Lily back to the palace. My training was to memorize the oath for the spell."

"That must have been an eventful day. Take the guardians' oath, move with the princess into the castle, tell the queen and king that you're now attached to the princess."

She grinned up at him. "I think that's the day Petunia decided she hated me."

"Hate might not be a strong enough word. I spent some time on our journey taking down posters with you described as Lily's kidnapper." Sirius pulled Marlene closer as the anger he felt on the matter tried to resurface.

"I'm not surprised," Marlene rolled her eyes before pushing up and kissing him. "One day we should spend some time filling each other in on all these parts of our lives we kept from each other for the first few months."

"What, like get to know each other?" Sirius let his hand move to her curls.

"Something like that."

"What about all those pesky details that might give away too much?" He chuckled against her.

"I think we're done hiding. Lily and James are probably planning out how to announce an engagement in there right now." Marlene moved her arms around his neck to pull herself closer.

"We'll need to plan out getting James bound to you soon then." Sirius spun them around so her back was pressed into the wall.

Marlene's breath caught and she tangled her hands in his hair.

"Think James would let us just get it done without Lily?"

Sirius hummed against her neck, "Let me try and feel him out. I might be able to guilt him into it since he's the reason we're in this mess in the first place."

She laughed, "Do you always blame James for everything?"

Sirius pulled back and grinned, "Only whenever I can. I can't let his ego get too big after all."

Marlene pulled him back to her, "You're ridiculous, you know."

"And apparently, you like it." Sirius moved to kiss her neck when someone gasped.

Sirius turned to find one of the runners standing at the turn for the corridor like a frozen deer.

"On with you then," Sirius motioned the boy down the hall. The poor lad bolted as fast as he could to the other end of the corridor.

"We've got to those two married." Marlene chuckled as Sirius set her feet flat on the floor.

Sirius kissed her once more before taking her hand in his, seeing nothing but happiness in her face shining back up at him. "You took the words right out of my mouth."


	64. Chapter 64

**James:**

James wasted no time. Once they'd shut the door to his study he brought Lily close and captured her lips. If that storm hadn't trapped them, he would have spent the entire day kissing her like this. And she looked like a dream. Merlin, he'd never seen anyone as captivating as Lily looked right now.

Lily's hands tangled in his hair and James thought he might fall over for the rush it gave him.

He moved to kiss her neck and grinned at the sigh Lily let out as his lips slid along her neck.

"James."

James kissed lower.

"James."

"Lily."

She arched into him and James smirked.

"James, slow down."

"Are you sure?" He let his breath waft down her chest.

"I'm trying to be." Her voice was barely a whisper.

James chuckled as he kissed back up to her lips, lingering longer with each kiss.

"Alright, Lils," he murmured against her. "Was there something you wanted to discuss?"

Lily's chest rose high with each breath. "Yes, actually."

James nuzzled her hairline near her ear. "And…"

"We need to discuss," she pulled in a long breath, "our next move, politically."

James sighed, "This is why I put you on my Privy Council. You always see to the heart of things."

"So how do you think we should proceed?" Lily smiled at him and James had to resist the aching urge to kiss her again.

"I know exactly how I want to proceed." He ran his hands up and down her waist as he held her gaze.

He felt her breath catch under his fingers and the feeling only increased the burning desire within him to kiss her. But his mother's lessons were well engraved and so James chose to make things crystal clear to this enchanting creature he'd fallen madly in love with.

"Marry me, Lily, not because your sister tried to arrange it but because I love you and I want you by my side. I want to wake up to you and to have you there with me as we try to keep this crazy country running. I want to have children with you. I want to spend my life turning to you. Marry me."

Lily pulled him close and kissed him, all reservations seemingly gone. And James took full advantage of Lily's enthusiasm. He pulled her flush against him, letting his hands wander along the soft silk of her dress. Slowly he let his lips start to move down her neck again before speaking.

"I'm assuming your answer is yes." He spoke low, letting his voice rumble against her neck.

"Of course it's a yes," Lily laughed before pulling his lips back up to hers. "Of course it's a yes, James. I haven't been this happy since I found out I could use magic."

James kissed her, trying to pull her closer.

"Does this also mean you've found your rooms to be tiresome?"

Lily giggled, "Depends. How scandalous would it be for your heir to be born out of wedlock?"

James groaned.

"Are the McKinnon's the only people from Privet you'd want at our wedding?"

"Just them," Lily nodded.

"Think they would travel in the winter? Elspeth could send for them and we could be married before the month is out." James nipped at her earlobe.

"Would we even get a honeymoon with it being winter?" Lily let her fingers card through his hair and James rested his head in the crook of her neck and moaned.

"I'll cancel our meetings for that week, then when it's warm we'll go up to the mountains and go horseback riding and have archery lessons all day. You'd effectively get two honeymoons."

Lily bit her lip. "You really want to marry me before the month is out?"

"I would have married you the moment we reunited in Ottery if I'd been able to manage it, Lily." James let his hand come up to caress her face.

Lily's green eyes held his gaze for a long moment before she finally spoke. "Yes. Let's get married as soon as Angus and Catherine can make it here."

James crashed his lips into hers. Somehow, it had worked. Somehow he'd managed to get it to play out the way he'd hoped it would. There were so many things that made it more difficult and more complicated than it probably needed to be. But they had made it.

"Should we tell Sirius and Marly?" Lily asked between kissing him.

"Might give them a bit of peace," James chuckled.

"I'm sure knowing they can share a bed again soon will make things easier on their mid-day snogging sessions." Lily laughed with him.

"Elspeth will need to compose a letter to Angus as well." James smiled down at her. "But Lily, I've been wanting to kiss you since I met you, and we keep interrupting that with all these pesky details of politics and other people."

"Well, your Majesty," Lily grinned up at him, "I believe your betrothed would very much like for you to kiss her."

James smiled. "Those are the best words I've heard since you said you loved me."

Lily smirked. "I love you, James, now kiss me."

James didn't need to be told twice.


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need more hours in the day. Here's hoping we all get a few more as summer draws closer. Hopefully, everything allows me to keep on top of my writing and the next two chapters go up on May 2nd.

**Marlene:**

Lily had an unfortunate habit of not being able to sleep when she was excited about something, which is why when Marlene blinked her eyes open the morning after having to drag her charge away from her betrothed, she saw Lily nearly bouncing in the chair she'd conjured next to Marlene's bed.

Marlene groaned and rolled over to see her mother still sound asleep.

"Just wake her up Lily," Marlene whispered, turning back to her sister. "Mum won't mind."

Lily twisted her wand around in her hand. "I'm being silly."

"You're engaged to marry a king, of course, you're being silly." Marlene chuckled.

"Engaged?"

Marlene turned over to see her mum pushing up out of her pillows.

"James and I settled it last night," Lily launched herself onto the bed and Marlene barely pulled her legs away in time, keeping them from being crushed.

"That's wonderful news!" Elspeth pulled Lily into a hug. "When do we need to come back?"

Marlene watched Lily drop Elspeth's gaze. "Well, we thought, maybe, that Angus and Catherine wouldn't mind terribly much, and you might send for them, and have the wedding just as soon as they got here…"

Lily trailed off, turning slightly away from Elspeth, and Marlene immediately reached for her sister as her eyes sought her mother's.

"I don't think they would mind, do you Mum?"

Marlene grinned when her mother laughed and pulled Lily back into her embrace. "I'll write and send the letter today. I'm sure they'll get here as quickly as they can."

Lily brightened immediately, her smile as blinding as the sun pouring in through their window.

"We could have James write up something for Angus to give to the magic users as well. I'm sure he'd be willing to offer official sanctuary to them, and that might build more confidence in the effort to push Vernon and Petunia to revoke these ridiculous decrees. It would give the fence-sitters a safety net."

Elspeth laughed, "You were made to be a queen, my dear. Let me write my letter first and then we can talk to His Majesty. From what I saw yesterday, you all have a very full schedule for the next few days."

Marlene groaned, even with Sirius there with her, sitting through meetings all day every day was awful. "I'd already forgotten."

"What shall we tell Her Majesty, then? I'm required to send back a report since she financed my journey." Elspeth began plaiting her hair back.

Marlene chuckled at how the color fled from Lily's face.

"She is your sister, Lils."

"Only because fate hates me," Lily shot back.

"Lily, darling, you're going to be Queen of Godric's Hollow." Elspeth smiled. "You'll be her peer. You'll have to interact with her. You might as well start building the foundation for a professional relationship now."

Lily went to protest but Marlene interrupted her.

"Wait, what if James called in your dowry?"

"I don't think I get a dowry," Lily shook her head. "James said that Petunia and Vernon offered me as his wife no strings attached."

"But what if James wrote to them saying that he wanted a guarantee that because Lily is from Privet, that the magic users from Privet will be given safe passage out?"

"We're trying to push Their Majesties to come to their senses, Marly, not give them an easy way to continue in their childishness." Her mother scoffed.

But Marlene pressed on. "You don't understand, I'm talking about giving them an ultimatum. If they want to kick the magic users out, fine. They'll _pay_ to send them to James. James can explain in a letter that Lily told him what was going on, and he's more or less decided that Lily is the rightful ruler of the magic users if Petunia has decided to kick them out. Therefore, all magic users are Lily's subjects and since Petunia wants no part with them, Petunia will have to send Lily's subjects to her, along with a fair price for their livelihoods that they'll be leaving behind."

Lily shook her head, "We can't word it like that, it's got to hold up under court scrutiny."

Marlene waved her off. "That's where you and James come in. You two can make it sound right, but if Vernon and Petunia are going to insist on kicking out the magic users then this might just be the best option for those who are going to lose their homeland and help them feel less like their lives are completely turned upside down. They're following the magic-user of the royal family and they aren't really swearing loyalty to a new monarch. They just get Lily as their queen, a far better trade to Petunia."

"Would it work, Elspeth?" Lily furrowed her brow.

Marlene turned to her mum and grinned. "You know you want to do it."

Her mum shook her head and tried to hide her smile. "Make yourselves presentable, girls, we're going to try and intercept His Majesty before breakfast."


	66. Chapter 66

**Lily:**

It took a great deal of effort not to go running down the corridors to James' quarters. Lily smiled as she remembered James' offer to provide rooms for her and Marlene until such time that she found them tiresome.

At present, she found them dreadfully tiresome.

But alas, a princess lived by different rules, and just as Marlene couldn't marry, Lily wouldn't share James' bed until they'd formalized it all.

"Lily, child, slow down. I'm not as young as I used to be."

Lily slowed and gave Elspeth a sheepish smile. "I'm just excited, and you're hardly old."

"I'm not nineteen anymore, that's for certain." Elspeth laughed. "And this isn't a race with the sun; we're going to catch your poor fiancé unawares as it is, my dear."

"I rather enjoy watching Lily surprise James," Marlene linked her arm around Lily's and Lily pulled her sister closer.

"But for Mum's sake, I'll keep your pace more princessy."

"Princessy?" Lily laughed.

Marlene grinned, "We common folk don't have to use real words."

"Marlene, you will speak the way I taught you, young lady." Elspeth's 'mother voice,' as Lily liked to call it, sounded and the memories that flooded her brought a lump in her throat.

Lily stopped and hugged Elspeth fiercely.

"Thank you, for everything," was all she was able to choke out as she clung to this woman who had taken her in with full heart and never looked back.

"Aw, you didn't invite me to the hugging fest?"

Lily turned to find Sirius sticking his head out of James' rooms.

"So needy," Marlene teased.

Sirius grinned at her, "Only you would know."

Lily laughed, "We were going to see if James had a few moments before breakfast to talk about the finer points of our political relationship."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Can't even let me eat breakfast before making me work."

But he ushered them in with a smile.

"Your Laziness, we have company!"

James came out of the door that led to the bedrooms and Lily nearly stumbled mid-stride.

His shirt was untucked and his hair disheveled and his glasses were crooked and Lily felt her chest tighten and her breathing grow labored. It was the first time since before the attack at Enid that she'd seen him like this: normal. And seeing normal, bleary-eyed James was pulling all the emotion she felt for him during those two months on the road back to the forefront of her heart.

Oh, how tiresome her own rooms were!

James shook his head and his hair fell all over before he yawned and smiled at their little group.

"Excuse my appearance, my Ladies, I'm not used to visitors before the cooks have finished breakfast."

"It doesn't improve all that much, your Kingliness," Sirius laughed and then stepped behind Marlene when James glared at him.

"You're scared of her, take her on first."

The laughter finally broke the spell that James' appearance had woven around her and Lily remembered how to speak.

"We were hoping you would be willing to talk about something that Marlene thought of actually."

James reached for her hand and Lily let him lead her to the chairs in his sitting room. "What terrifying ideas have you come up with this morning, Marlene?"

Marlene rolled her eyes, "They're not terrifying if you aren't my victim."

"Marly," Elspeth chuckled, "Please just tell His Majesty what your idea was."

"It's simple, write a letter to Petunia and Vernon that if they're going to have you marry the magical member of the royal family and then kick out the magic users, then you expect Lily's dowry to be all the magic users in the Kingdom of Privet. And that Privet's Crown will be required to finance those subjects' travel, along with buying them out of their property so they can set up new lives here in Godric's Hollow."

Lily bit her lip as James studied Marlene.

"The idea is to force their hand then?"

Marlene shrugged, "That's the idea. I won't lie, I lived with them for three years, I kind of like the idea of the two of them turning purple over it."

"We'd need to word it better, James," Lily squeezed his hand, "but this might just get us exactly what you were hoping for. It either shows them that they need to come to their senses and stop this nonsense, or it gets all the magic users out of Privet and somewhere safe where they'll be respected and able to live their lives in peace."

James grinned at her before bringing Lily's hand to his lips and stealing a kiss on the inside of her wrist. "I think it's genius!"

Lily tried to calm her beating heart. They were discussing politics for heaven's sake! She shouldn't be melting before him with his skewed glasses, and messy hair, and soft lips on her skin. As she tried to breathe a little deeper, Lily determined that her rooms were completely and absolutely tiresome.


	67. Chapter 67

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, everyone, for understanding the late posting. My kid is fine now, and gorging on ice cream on the couch next to me, because I'm that mom. (For those who don't follow me on Tumblr, my children were being rambunctious and bookshelf edges are sharp, and we ended up in the urgent care right as I pulled out my laptop to start posting. :p )
> 
> Assuming no other freak accidents, I'll post again on May 9th.

**Sirius:**

Sirius saw the ladies to the door with the promise of meeting them at Lily's rooms as soon as James managed to clothe himself in something more than his night clothes.

"I think you're the craziest or the bravest man to ever walk the planet getting involved with a woman like Marlene." James chuckled. "I never would have had the thought to force Privet's monarchy to choose their treasury or their pride."

Sirius grinned, "She's full of ideas like that."

"She never says anything in our Privy Council meetings," James walked into his room and Sirius followed.

"She finds them boring, mostly, but she also isn't on the council so there's that too."

James stopped mid-stride, "Yes she is."

"You never told her that," Sirius shook his head.

"But I told Lily that she and Marlene needed to be at all the meetings of the Privy Council."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "James, Marlene has to be with Lily all the time. She has to be in there with us regardless of what you say."

James frowned, "Well now I feel like the court jester."

Sirius laughed, "You are the court jester, we just also happen to swear loyalty to you."

As James shoved a hand in his hair, Sirius figured he might as well let all the difficult news be said at once.

"While we're on the subject of Marlene," Sirius moved to his own wardrobe, talking to James through the door that connected their rooms. "There's a bit of imbalance in this strange little family the four of us have created."

"How so?" James pulled his shirt over his head.

"I'm bound to both you and Lily because of what happened when we crossed into Ottery. Marlene is only bound to Lily."

"And…" James laced up his shoes and looked over at Sirius.

"And we feel some equality is in order."

James walked into Sirius' room as Sirius finished with his own shoes. "You want me to let Marlene bind herself to me?"

"Yes."

"And if I said no?" James ran a hand into his hair.

"Well, we already know Lily would probably try everything she could to stop it from happening; she didn't understand what having a guardian entailed until this adventure got started and wasn't pleased when it came to head. So if you say no as well, then I guess we'll find out how terrifying Marlene really is when she wants to get her way." Sirius couldn't hide his smirk.

James huffed, "Only you get away with threatening your King."

"So, you're alright with this?"

"Can I think about it? I'm still reeling from knowing that I need to write a letter that could potentially sever all ties with another country, even if it is in the benefit of half their population."

Sirius shrugged, "You can, but I don't know how much time I can give you. I've been pushing this off with her since the night they got here. She was willing to be bound to you even if Lily decided to take you up on that offer of setting her up as a noblewoman in her own right and leaving her alone."

James blinked, "She was willing to die if you failed? Without even having the chance to try and save herself?"

"Yes," Sirius nodded gravely. "So, I suppose what I'm telling you is that this is going to happen, either with your corporation or without it. But Marlene is set, and I won't be the one to stop her. You and Lily will be married, and it makes sense to me to have equality."

"Ruthy and Elias weren't bound to both Mum and Dad." James hedged.

"Ruth and Elias weren't Marlene and me." Sirius shook his head. "Just think about it, alright? Marly's going to make this happen one way or another, it would be easier to have your compliance."

"How are Ruth and Elias not you and Marlene? You're all guardians of monarchs." James argued.

"Ruth and Elias never ventured to test the limits of their oath. Make no mistake, James, we are. Marlene and I are playing a dangerous game, but I'll take the gamble with death over not having her as mine."

James was quiet for a long moment before he sighed. "Let me sleep on this. Then we can figure out how to go about it. I don't think Lily would be as against it as you and Marlene seem to, so let's not rush into anything and then upset her. Your relationship may be stable aside from potential death, but I'm still waiting for the mortar to finish drying in mine."

Sirius chuckled. "Alright, I'll let Marly know you're working on coming to terms with the idea."

James clasped Sirius on the shoulder, "And would you also let her know she's a member of my Privy Council?"

"Absolutely not," Sirius grinned, "I'm looking forward to watching you stutter as you explain that you want her input in the meetings and let her know she's been on the Council since she got here."

James groaned and shoved Sirius' shoulder. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because I keep you alive," Sirius laughed before moving from their rooms to lead them toward Lily's rooms.


	68. Chapter 68

**James:**

One day his life would slow down. One day he would be able to simply wake up and go about his day without any major concerns, secure in the knowledge that life was good. James was certain it had to happen, that whatever author of his life that kept his life in constant tumult would have another story to move on to at some point, or maybe get bored of him and his attempts to simply run a country and win the love of his life over. It had to slow down at some point, the odds were in his favor, right?

James sighed as they approached Lily's rooms and wondered how much longer they'd have to live down the corridor from each other. Lily's rooms were one of his most and least favorite places, favorite because he was able to spend time with her there, least because they were keeping her from him.

At some point, he would need to bring himself to enter his parents' rooms again. He'd been able to worm his way out of moving into the King's quarters by arguing that he wasn't married yet and there was no reason to, but now, well, he was going to be married and King and he'd need to stop hiding from the fact that his parents weren't here anymore.

Add to that minor mountain that he also needed to figure out if Lily would be alright with having Marlene bound to him as well, and knowing it would happen with or without his approval, and James was left wondering if this author of his life would ever leave him alone.

"Alright, James?" Sirius stopped next to him as James hesitated at Lily's door.

"If I just keep moving forward, everything will get easier, right?"

Sirius put a hand on his shoulder, "I don't know, but the odds are in your favor, so yes, keep moving forward."

James nodded before raping his knuckle against the door and entering Lily's sitting room.

"You two take as long to ready yourselves as a high-born Lady does," Marlene smirked but James didn't miss how her eyes were focused on Sirius.

He wondered if most of the teasing he had thought directed at him over the time they'd known each other was actually aimed at Sirius. James and Lily were allowed to be completely open with their affection regardless of the company they found themselves in, but James hadn't considered the fact that Sirius and Marlene weren't in a world that would support the same in them. Maybe he'd made some assumptions too quickly when Lily and Marlene had returned to them.

"Be nice," Lily chuckled and moved to James.

Having Lily in his arms seemed to give him a strength he didn't have before.

"Marlene," James smiled at the slight woman, "would you be willing to be on my Privy Council? It was pointed out to me that your amazing ideas have been absent in our meetings because I had never formally asked you to be a participating member."

Marlene blinked at him in silence for several moments.

"Marly," Elspeth chuckled, "the correct answer is yes."

Marlene shot her mother a glare before turning back to James. "Thank you, James, I'll do what I can. After all, you will be my new monarch in the next month or two, so I suppose that I'll need to make sure my ideas are to your benefit from now on."

James chuckled, "I'd appreciate it, being on your bad side has landed me in some uncomfortable scenarios."

"I still wish I could have been there when she bound you in those cords," Sirius laughed, and James noticed Sirius' hand brushed against Marlene's back.

James sighed. He wanted to decree that the magic of the oath was null and void and that Sirius and Marlene could do as they pleased and how they pleased. But his title did little to alter ancient magic and free his brother from a task that was steeped in tradition and regulation.

"Shall we?" He gestured to the door and moved his arm from around Lily's waist so she could hold it as they walked to the dining hall.

"Yes please," Lily smiled, "I've been so excited I've been up before the sun."

"We can't have a famished princess; to breakfast!"

The rest of the day went quickly, meetings filled the day, and at Lily's suggestion, they skipped their afternoon break for composing the letters. It allowed Elspeth to have everything ready to return to Privet the next morning to fetch her family and deliver the well worded and diplomatic ultimatum that would hopefully bring the idiots to their senses.

"Why not take dinner in your rooms?" Marlene asked as they walked out of another meeting late in the afternoon.

"We probably should dine with the Court," Lily shook her head. "We formally announced our engagement this morning, we ought to be seen together."

"You've been plenty seen," Marlene rolled her eyes, "but you've been running full bore since before the sun rose this morning and there are still another two meetings after dinner. Take a break, and dine in your rooms. Sirius and I will even sit further away so you can have some private conversation."

James wanted to hug Marlene.

"I think she's right, Lily," he slid his arm around her waist. "Let's take some time to ourselves before we go through the remainder of our day."

Lily looked unconvinced but nodded.

And when their break for dinner came, James moved gratefully to his rooms and the meal awaiting them there. Probably at Marlene or Sirius' instructions, two tables had been set up, one close to the entrance to his rooms and the other at the far end of his sitting room.

"Off with you," Sirius waved them off and pulled out Marlene's chair for her. "Pretend we aren't here. That's exactly what we're going to do."

Lily rolled her eyes, "No more lessons, Sirius. I can use my imagination just fine without you trying to make a point."

Sirius bowed flamboyantly and then winked at Lily, "Whatever you say, my future queen."

James took Lily's hand and pulled her away from Sirius before she threw a shoe or something worse at him. Why he goaded her James wasn't sure, but she never seemed to really be upset with Sirius and so there was probably little harm in it. Besides, this little private dinner would hopefully give him a chance to bring up those two hard things he'd thought of that morning.

And perhaps if he was lucky, James would get to simply enjoy her company for a while too.


	69. Chapter 69

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great week lovelies! I'll post again on May 16th. =)

**Marlene:**

Sirius slid his arm around her waist as she moved around the table to sit in the chair he pulled out for her. Then his lips were on her neck and Marlene willingly leaned back into him and let her mind go blank for a moment.

"They're almost married." He whispered against her skin.

"That only solves one of our problems though," she chuckled and sat in the chair.

Sirius smirked at her as he sat in his seat. "Amazingly enough, I have been working on that."

"Really, I thought you'd only been able to work on guilting James into putting me on his Privy Council."

Sirius' smile dropped instantly and it took Marlene by surprise.

"Marly, James can definitely be an idiot at times, but he honestly thought he had asked you to be on the Privy Council. He didn't think about the fact that asking you to be there with Lily was superfluous; he didn't think about how you have to be there. He thought that by asking you to be at the meetings he was making his intentions clear."

Marlene sighed and cut into her food. "I suppose I can understand that."

And she could. James had a habit of thinking people could read his intentions, which she had found were generally good-natured and altruistic. James was a good king. He just also happened to be the reason her life was spinning, and so it was easier to be on guard with him than to actually admit that her future brother-in-law (more or less) was actually a decent fellow.

"I did make him own up to it though," Sirius' smirk found its way back to his face and Marlene felt herself smiling again. "He asked if I'd mention to you that he'd slipped up and let you know, casually, of course, that you were on the Privy Council."

Marlene laughed. "You really do enjoy watching him squirm, don't you?"

Sirius pointed his fork at her and raised his eyebrows. "Says the woman who bound him in gold cords? Kettle, meet pot."

"I never said I didn't enjoy it." Marlene parried Sirius' fork with her own.

"I've never fenced with forks before…" Sirius pulled back and engaged her fork again.

"I'm not having a sword fight with our forks." Marlene parried again before attempting to flick the fork out of Sirius' hand.

He readjusted his grip and parried. "Right, this is most certainly you 'not' having a sword fight against me with our forks."

"You're one to talk." Marlene parried again and then pressed forward for the touch, but he caught the tines of her fork with his.

"This was my idea. I'm entitled to carry it through if I want to." Sirius brought his other hand up to help untangle the fork tines, letting his fingers caress Marlene's hand as he pulled away.

"You're ridiculous," Marlene decided she would be the bigger person and put her fork to its intended use of helping her eat.

"And you're in love with me, so…" Sirius' voice went low and Marlene bit her lip.

"Yes, and I'd add that you've done rather well at giving us a riveting distraction, but I still want to know if you talked to James about having me bound to him." She fixed Sirius with her best impersonation of her mother's no-nonsense stare.

Sirius just grinned at her. "I do believe I implied I had, but if it's direct disclosure that you're after, yes, I told James that hell or high water, you'd be bound to him."

Marlene sighed in relief. She wasn't going to get a wedding like Lily, and she honestly didn't want something like what Lily would be put through with all the pomp and circumstance, but this was the closest Marlene could come to a wedding. Being bound to James put her on even footing with Sirius, sure, but it did more than that. For Marlene, it showed Sirius that she was as committed to him as he was to her. It bound the two of them together far more than it bound her to James.

"Good, so what night are you going to sneak over to Lily's sitting room so we can get it done?"

Sirius frowned. "He asked me if he could have tonight to sleep on it actually."

Marlene blinked. "Sleep on it?"

Sirius nodded. "He said he felt overwhelmed with the reality that your idea was going to create a scenario where Privet could cut off all contact and relations with Godric's Hollow. He wanted a chance to think it through before we bound you to him."

Marlene turned to look back at James and Lily as they laughed about something one or the other had said. "You told him this was happening, with or without his permission, right?"

"Right."

"And you told him that Lily was not going to want this to happen?"

"Yes, twice I think."

Marlene turned back to Sirius and shook her head. "Fine, he can sleep on it, but I want this out of the way before my family gets here for the wedding. Mum leaves in the morning for Privet, so we'll have at most a month."

Sirius grabbed her hand. "It'll happen, Marls. I told James, with or without his and Lily's approval, you'll be bound to him."

Marlene squeezed his hand as her heart warmed. "I know. I can count on you."

Sirius' eyes darkened a moment and then he pressed forward and kissed her passionately for several moments.

"Thank you," he murmured as he slowed their pace.

Marlene smiled before moving to his lap and letting herself pretend that this imagined bubble of privacy was a bit more solid than it actually was.

Sirius didn't seem to mind at all.


	70. Chapter 70

**Lily:**

"I think you worded the letter perfectly." Lily reaffirmed for probably the millionth time.

James pushed his hand further into his hair. "Thank you, but that doesn't change how its contents are stressing me out. Lily, I've managed to keep political relations with freaking Cornelius of Diagon. That man is impossible and I still manage to keep political relations with him. But that letter might completely cut off all ties with Privet." He sighed and took her hand. "I'm marrying their princess; I'm marrying you and in the same breath I'm potentially cutting off any and all possibilities of you ever getting to have State visits home."

Lily thought her heart might burst, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and squeezed James' hand.

"But you're saving a large portion of my people, if not all of them. Think what it would mean to have your letter be the catalyst that wakes them up to their stupidity! That this bigotedness could be set aside. That my people could continue to live their lives and work in peace, regardless of whether they're magic users or not. That they could be happy and safe where they are."

James' stare was penetrating as he held her eyes, and Lily fought the desire to look down, feeling the heat in her cheeks.

"I can't believe you chose me." James' voice was barely a whisper, but there was surety in his tone.

"Of course, I chose you," Lily smiled, "I love you."

James brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles before moving to the side of her hand and then the underside of her wrist, his eyes never leaving hers.

Lily stopped breathing until he set their hands back on the table. Then her chest rose quickly as though she'd just burst through the surface of lake water to pull in a clear breath of fresh air.

James' smile morphed just slightly into a smirk. "I rather enjoy knowing I can have a similar effect on you to what you do to me."

Lily smirked, "Well, our honeymoon should be rather entertaining seeing as the needs for propriety will be gone."

Lily laughed as James coughed on the bite of food he'd put into his mouth.

"You did that on purpose," James accused with a smile.

Lily grinned, "Would I do something like that?"

"Why yes, I believe you absolutely would."

Lily pouted, "So mean to your future wife."

James rolled his eyes as he smiled, "Torturous, really."

"Yes, you absolutely are." Lily nodded.

James smirked. "I was talking about you."

"Me?"

"Oh yes," James kept his eyes on Lily's, "So very torturous."

Lily forced herself to breathe deeper. "We're not alone, James."

"Sirius and Marlene are otherwise occupied, love." James nodded to where their guardians were seated.

Lily turned and laughed. They most certainly were otherwise occupied.

"Well, I suppose we could take our cue." She smirked at him before finally giving in and kissing James.

She was rather enjoying herself until her stomach growled in protest.

"Perhaps we finish dinner and then we can see if there's enough time before our next meeting to indulge a bit more."

Lily stole one more kiss, "Probably best. We'll be of little use for the rest of the evening if we're hungry."

James laughed as Lily refocused on her dinner. "You know, my mother once said that it was a requirement to eat something every four hours if you didn't want wars to break out."

"Your mother sounds like a very wise woman." Lily smiled at him.

James smiled back but sighed, "She really was."

Lily's heart broke for him, and for herself, for their parents they had lost.

"They would be proud of you."

James nodded, "I think your parents would be proud of you as well."

Lily scoffed, "Right, because I've been a stellar princess since they passed."

James frowned, "Don't do that. You've done the best you could, given the circumstances. And you're an amazing ruler. You've been improving Godric's Hollow since you showed up, Merlin, you've been improving it since I met you."

Lily let his words wash over her, unsure of how to handle the praise that she hadn't really received since her father died and her mother became consumed by her grief.

"Thank you," she finally decided that responding and moving on was better than sitting in silence as she let her emotions war within her.

James held her gaze for a moment longer before seeming to understand that she couldn't handle it now and let the topic drop.

They went back to their food for several moments before James spoke again, his gaze fixed on his food. "How do you feel about having Marlene as a guardian."

Lily paused and looked up at him, "I can't change it. It is what it is."

James nodded but continued to stare down at his food. "So, you don't like that she's your guardian?"

"I don't know," Lily sighed, "I didn't understand what was happening. I trusted people to make decisions for me. I'd just lost my mother and Petunia was demanding me to come home and I guess a part of my sixteen-year-old self thought that maybe being bound to Marlene gave me a family again."

James looked over at Sirius, "I get that. I knew per tradition that I'd need a guardian, and when Dad suggested Sirius, it felt like I was getting a brother out of it, not just someone who would protect me."

Lily nodded, "I think we both felt like we were creating a family through it. You gave Sirius a new family, and I tried to make the McKinnon's my new family."

"I think you're right," James nodded and finally turned to look at her. "Maybe we could find a way to really solidify that family concept between the four of us."

Lily went to ask what he meant, but Sirius' voice interrupted her.

"You two just about done? Your next meeting is in ten minutes."

"Just a minute more," James smiled at him and shoveled a large bite into his mouth.

Then they were back to the grinding stone, trying to get caught back up from all the meetings they'd missed during their outdoor excursion, and Lily forgot to follow up on what James had been talking about.


	71. Chapter 71

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post again on May 23rd. Enjoy your week!

**Sirius:**

Sirius let his fingers run along the small of Marlene's back as he and James walked out of Lily's rooms at the end of the night. He often lied to himself about how those little touches were enough. But right now, he couldn't bring himself to even try. Watching the door shut as they walked out set his teeth on edge. And the silence as he and James walked to their rooms seemed to make the weariness, he felt over it all echo within him.

"One more day like this and we'll be back to normal." James collapsed into his chair in his rooms.

"Splendid," Sirius moved to look at one of the continent maps, trying to estimate the absolute soonest Lady McKinnon could return with the rest of her family.

"I think you and Marlene are wrong about Lily."

Sirius snapped his head up so fast his neck made a cracking noise.

"Damnit, James! Did you tell her?!"

James pushed a hand into his hair and rested his head against the back of his chair. "No. I'm not that thick, thank you very much. I tried to get a sense of where she stands on Marlene as her guardian, and I think you two aren't seeing the opportunity here."

Sirius gripped the table in front of him to maintain control of his temper. "Fine, what opportunity are we missing? Other than the one where Lily adamantly refuses to let Marlene be bound to you and feels undermined when she finds out we bound me to her without her knowledge?"

James hit the armrest of his chair with his first. "Not everyone is living their life waiting to blow up at you!"

"I never said they were!" Sirius slammed his hand down on the table.

"This isn't about you!"

"It's about all of us, James, so yes, a portion of it is about me!"

"If you truly believed it was about all of us, you'd give Lily a chance to know what's going on!"

"So, she can block something we know she doesn't want? Are you insane?"

"But she does want this!"

Sirius had been ready to argue until his brain processed what James had said.

"Come again?"

James closed his eyes and took a deep breath before responding.

"She wants a family, Sirius. That's why she didn't ask questions when the Lords in Privet wanted to make Marlene her guardian. She'd lost her parents and she was estranged from her sister and she felt like being bound to Marlene made her a member of the McKinnon's family."

Sirius let James' words sink in as his mind wrapped around the implications of them. "You think if we present binding Marlene to you and disclosing that I'm bound to Lily as becoming a family, that Lily wouldn't object?"

James let out a long sigh, "I think it's worth a shot."

Sirius moved to grab a piece of paper and began writing on it.

"What are you doing?"

"Your long day isn't over." Sirius blew on the ink and then folded up the paper before moving to the door and handing out to the page boy. "We need to talk about this with Marly and that means waiting for Lily to go to bed and then going back to their rooms.

"It can't wait until tomorrow?" James yawned.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "We're just as busy tomorrow as we were today. And the longer we put this off the harder it's going to be for Marlene and me to have a firm plan in place for going around the two of you, assuming your idea doesn't work."

James groaned and threw his head back into the chair.

Sirius indulged in a smile. They could probably save this for tomorrow, but he wasn't going to give up on the opportunity to see Marlene once more tonight.

He didn't need to wait long. The page boy returned almost immediately. Lily had retired as soon as James and Sirius had left, and Marlene thankfully received his message without Lily knowing.

It took a great deal of effort for Sirius not to run down the corridor.

Marlene's smile when she let them in required even more effort from him to not press her against the wall and savor the taste of her.

"What's this idea James?" Marlene levitated her chair closer to the two that Sirius and James customarily sat in on the now rare occasion they were able to sit together in leisure. Sirius contemplated pulling her from her chair to his lap for a moment but resigned himself to the fact that they were working right now.

James yawned. "I think that if we present this whole thing to Lily as the four of us creating a family, then she'll go for it."

Marlene shook her head. "Lily told me that if she understood what being a guardian was then she would have never allowed it. I don't think we can trick her into approving this by wrapping it in the word family."

Sirius gestured toward James, "Tell her what Lily told you today. I thought the same thing until he told me what she said this evening."

James rubbed his eyes, skewing his glasses in the process. "I asked her how she felt about having a guardian and she told me that when it came down to it, she was trying to recreate a family. Having you as her guardian felt like she was becoming a McKinnon."

"We could come up with a good back up plan, and really lay out how we want to approach this family idea," Sirius added. "But if there's any way at all that we can get you bound to James with Lily's approval, then I want it."

Marlene pressed her palm to her forehead and closed her eyes tight. "She really said she was trying to create a family?"

"Who was trying to create a family?"

Sirius managed to hold in the groan that tried to escape him.

Lily stood at the door to her and Marlene's rooms.


	72. Chapter 72

**James:**

He was exhausted. James was simply too tired for any of this. He should have kept his stupid mouth shut and not said anything to Sirius when they got back to his rooms. He should have just gone to bed and talked about it tomorrow.

"Lils," Marlene jumped up, "It's, it's not, I, it's nothing."

"Obviously it's not or you wouldn't have James and Sirius here." Lily tied her robe a little tighter and pointed at them. Her accusatory finger made James' chest hurt.

"Lils," Marlene started again but James was done. Lily was going to be his wife and he'd be damned if this set the precedence of their marriage.

"You, love, you said that you were trying to create a family when you allowed Marlene to become your guardian."

Marlene turned and glared at him, but James was too tired to care.

Lily shook her head, "How does that explain why you're here?"

"Because I thought we could take that family concept one step further."

"James," Sirius tried to cut in but James held up his hand and continued to address his fiance.

"I thought we might be able to increase the size of your family."

Lily's green eyes were penetrating but she moved to her chair next to James and pinned him with her stare. "I'm listening."

James stuck his hand in his hair and swallowed hard.

"Well, you gained Marlene as a sister when she was bound to you. And I gained Sirius as a brother when he was bound to me. I thought we might increase the family." James reached out and took her hand, trying to smile through his exhaustion and anxiety.

"Lily," Marlene spoke but Lily cut her off.

"Wait, do you mean have Marlene bound to you and Sirius bound to me?"

James nodded and squeezed her hand.

"Is this what you were getting at while we were eating dinner?"

Lily looked over at Marlene and James followed her gaze. He was again aware of why Peter was nervous around Marlene. If looks could kill, he'd be a dead man.

"You don't want to." Lily accused as she looked at her sister.

Marlene blinked. "What?"

"You don't want to be bound to James."

"No! I mean, yes! Wait!"

"I get it Marly, you still have your family, but would it kill you to let me have something?"

"Lils, you don't understand!" Marlene pushed her palm into her forehead again.

Sirius stood up and moved to Marlene's side as James immediately pulled on Lily's hand to grab her attention.

"I think there is a lot of misunderstanding going on right now," Sirius guided Marlene back to his chair and pulled her onto his lap.

James nodded. "Lily, can we start at the beginning? I know you feel blindsided right now, but let us explain, and I think you'll find that we're all on the same side."

Lily huffed, "I'm listening, then."

James sighed; he was so tired.

"I think it's fair to start out with that this whole thing is my doing. After the Ottery attack, I inadvertently bound Sirius to you."

"You what?" Lily gaped at him.

"I didn't mean to," James rubbed his eyes. Why were they having these hard conversations when he just wanted to pass out. "I wanted to know he would look after you with me. I didn't mean to make you an extension of his oath."

Lily stopped gapping at him and turned to point at Sirius. "That's why you jumped in front of me!"

Sirius nodded, "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell Marly and me?" She turned back to James.

"I didn't know that's what I had done until Sirius woke up after the Enid attack." James squeezed her hand. "And once we were together again, I was so concerned about you leaving that I was afraid to."

"Did you know?" Lily looked at Marlene.

"Yes, but I was worried about how you'd take it. Not two days before I found out you said you would have never allowed me to be your guardian if you had known what it meant. I didn't want you to decide to up and leave." She looked down at Sirius' hands entwined around her waist and spoke a little quieter. "I'm invested in staying."

James felt his head throb when he thought of the injustices surrounding his brother and Marlene. Things had to change, not now obviously, but soon, things had to change.

Tonight, however, was about his fiancé.

"Lily," James pulled her attention back to him. "We all want this if you do. We could have Marlene bound to me and then you'd have a brother and a sister."

Lily rubbed her eyes. "This is a lot all at once, and my brain is completely drained from all our meetings. Can we reconvene on this in the morning?"

"I wholly agree," James stood and offered Lily his hand.

She took it, but then led him toward her rooms.

"Sleep well, you two." Lily waved as Sirius and Marlene stared after them.

"Lily," James stopped them at the door to the bed chambers.

"James," She looked up at him with almost pleading eyes, and James felt his resolve crumble under her stare.

"Are, are you sure?" James almost expected to hear Sirius laugh.

"Please, James." James felt her grip on his hand loosen, giving him the ability to say no.

He tightened his grip on her.

"Of course, Princess."

And he followed her into her room.


	73. Chapter 73

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post again on May 30th. Have a wonderful week my friends!

**Marlene:**

The door shut behind James and Lily with a finality that echoed in Marlene's heart.

"I'm the biggest idiot!" Marlene hung her head and tried to swallow the threatening tears.

"No," Sirius pulled her into his chest.

Marlene gladly let him hold her, and the comfort that came with it.

She felt so stupid. They'd been so caught up in secrets since they'd left Privet that Marlene had forgotten that secrets shouldn't be their norm. Why hadn't she simply brought the matter to Lily? Why hadn't she trusted Lily? Why hadn't she even tried?

"This is all my fault."

"No, James already took the blame, don't go trying to take it yourself." Sirius kissed her hairline as his fingers came up to play in her curls and instantly, she felt just the slightest bit better.

Merlin, she had missed this!

"Sirius, what if she doesn't forgive me?"

"Marls, she's going to forgive you. We're all exhausted and we've all acted beneath ourselves, but no permanent damage has been done. We'll all get some rest and then in the morning we can straighten this all out."

Marlene shook her head and tried to blink away her threatening tears.

"Come on," Sirius pushed them to stand.

"Where?"

"To your bed, obviously," Sirius smiled. "I know Lily is going to forgive you because if she really hated you, she would have sent James and me away just so we couldn't be together tonight."

Marlene couldn't help the little smile that spread across her face. "You think so?"

"Yes, I do," Sirius pushed open the door to her room and locked it behind them. "And you should be praising my ability to think before I speak because you have no idea how hard it was not to say something when James hesitated to follow Lily."

She couldn't bring herself to laugh as she looked at the door that led to Lily's room.

"Marly," Sirius gave her arm a tug and climbed onto the bed.

Marlene sighed and curled against Sirius, laying her head against his chest.

"Why was I so insistent that she wouldn't agree with having me bound to James? Why didn't I trust her?"

Sirius was quiet as he held her and Marlene took advantage of the silence to just listen to the beat of his heart in his chest.

"I think we tend not to trust our charges some days because we can easily feel like we have no control. I mean, you had no choice when Lily chose to run away, you had to follow her, just like I didn't have a choice but to follow James. That can make us feel trapped, and rather than addressing those things, we make decisions for them to help us feel less helpless."

Marlene huffed, "When did you become so wise?"

Sirius laughed, "My sage wisdom is what attracted you to me in the first place."

Marlene rolled her eyes, "That and your lack of tact."

"You offend me!" Sirius put his hand over his chest.

Marlene finally laughed.

"Honestly, no respect." Sirius shook his head.

Marlene ignored his theatrics and turned to look back at the door to Lily's room. "What am I going to do tomorrow?"

"We'll apologize and we'll explain what happened. I think once we've all had a full night's sleep and some breakfast, we'll be able to come to an agreement we can all live with rather quickly."

Marlene continued to look at the door. "You know, I think that you're right about why I didn't just bring the matter to Lily in the first place, but I think there's something else as well."

"What's that?" Sirius kissed behind her ear and pulled her closer.

Marlene smiled and melted back into him.

"I was looking at binding me to James as something that would bind me to you since you're bound to Lily. I realized that I'm still waiting for the oath to decide that we've crossed a line and take us, and it seemed to me that if I was bound to James, it would be showing you that I'm in this as deep as you are. That I'm as committed as you are."

Sirius slid his hand from her thigh up to her chest. "You want to prove to me that you're as insane as I am?"

Marlene chuckled and spun around to look up into Sirius' eyes. "Sort of, I want to prove that if the oath is going to take one of us, it has to take both. I'm not going to go on with what we're doing without knowing that we're going through all of it together, life and death."

Sirius carded his fingers into her curls, holding her gaze with his gray eyes, before pulling her into him and claiming her with his kiss.

And Marlene surrendered.

Nothing was really solved as the two clung to each other, but Marlene felt peace in knowing that tomorrow they'd have time, tomorrow they would be able to sort things out, tomorrow it would all be resolved. But for now, for tonight, they were finally together again, and for the moment, that was all Marlene really needed.


	74. Chapter 74

**Lily:**

Furious.

No. Livid.

No. Enraged.

Yes. Lily was enraged!

How could Marlene be so unfeeling!

"Lils?"

Lily turned from the foot of her bed to see James standing with his hand in his hair near the closed door.

"Where does she come off?!" Lily stormed. "Why can't she give me the decency to have a say?! Isn't this my life too?!"

James moved to sit next to her on the bed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Lils, I think that we've all made a lot of decisions that we aren't proud of in the last several months."

"So that makes it alright?!" Lily spun to look up at his hazel eyes.

James' hand shot right back to his hair.

"No, but, Lils," he paused and took a deep breath, "Has Marlene come to you upset about how you two running from Privet ended up?"

Lily glared up at him. "Are you saying that my mistakes justify hers?"

"No, I..."

James pulled up on a fistful of his hair and a quiet part of Lily's brain wondered what pulling on his hair would feel like.

"Lily," James started again and Lily brought her gaze back down from his hair to his eyes. "None of us are perfect, and all I'm saying is that we have to give each other the ability to be imperfect. We have to be alright with the fact that we're going to unintentionally hurt others and be hurt by others and that the relationships we hold with them are more important than the moments when we get hurt or when we hurt those closest to us."

James' words seemed to hit Lily square in the chest, opening a vent for the rage to come spilling out and leaving her feeling more defeated than enraged.

"What do I do now?" Lily slumped forward.

James pulled her back into him. "Don't feel like you're a bad person either. That's part of what I said, you have to allow yourself to be imperfect as much as you allow others to be."

"Where did you learn this speech?"

"My dad, actually," James chuckled. "He used to tell me that Kings had to understand that people, and most importantly they themselves, were imperfect more than anyone."

"I suppose so," Lily sighed, "but that doesn't necessarily make me feel better."

James kissed her cheek, "How about that?"

Lily rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn't stop the smile that pulled on her lips.

"James."

"No?" James grinned, "What about this?" He kissed her lips, long and slow, and brought a hand to cup her neck.

Lily hummed against him, "I might concede that this is helping."

"Good," James deepened the kiss and pulled her closer.

Lily pulled him closer and tried to lay back on her bed, but James held fast.

"James," Lily smiled against him, "I'm not letting you sleep on the floor."

James laughed, breaking their kiss. "Don't worry my princess, I have no intention of sleeping on the floor, but you see," he kissed along her jawline, "I'm exhausted and if I lay down, I'm going to fall asleep in two seconds."

"You're ridiculous," Lily's laugh was breathless.

"No, I'm enjoying this preview to the rest of our lives and I don't want to stop just yet." James moved to kiss her neck and Lily indulged herself by allowing her fingers to play in his hair.

James' approval came as a wanton moan, followed by a long yawn.

"You really are tired, aren't you?" Lily laughed and pulled back to look at him.

"Lily, it's taking everything within me to keep myself upright at the moment." James kissed her again.

"Maybe we should sleep then," Lily undid the knot in her robe and slid it off her shoulders.

James groaned. "Of all the days, Lils, of all the days."

Lily laughed and moved to the top of her bed. "We'll have plenty of time for all that once we don't have to worry about a scandal if our firstborn is older than our marriage."

"Stupid things that require more words than I have the brain capacity for," James grumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

Lily laughed as James kicked his shoes off and moved up to the top of the bed with her.

"Are you alright with Sirius being bound to me?" Lily asked as James pulled her close beneath the covers.

"Lily, I think it's a good idea on a lot of fronts, most of which I'm too tired to explain coherently, but yes, I think this is a good thing."

Lily let one of her hands gravitate to his hair again, pulling her fingers through it as she spoke.

"I think it's a good thing too."

"And Marlene does too." James yawned and bent his head closer to her hand.

Lily sighed, "Then I suppose tomorrow we'll need to figure out what's next."

"Tomorrow, yes," James mumbled as his breathing slowed.

"Tomorrow," Lily murmured as she closed her eyes and followed him to sleep. Nothing was fixed, but wrapped in James' arms, her fingers in his hair, tomorrow seemed like the right time to start fixing things. Tonight, she wanted to be here.


	75. Chapter 75

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting early, my husband and I have decided to take the kids out tomorrow since for where we are things are starting to calm down. I'll be skipping next week for the same reason, but I'll be back on June 13th.

**Sirius:**

Waking up with Marlene tucked against him felt like heaven, enough so that it was several moments before Sirius remembered what had led to him getting to hold her through the night.

He really wanted to lay there with her and pretend that the world didn't exist for the next while, but Sirius knew that now wasn't the time. They'd have James' and Lily's honeymoon for that.

"Marls," he kissed her neck and began rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

She sighed and curled further into him and Sirius decided that Peter didn't know the half of the torture she could inflict upon her victim.

"Marlene," he kissed her tousled curls. "We need to get up and get James and Lily up as well."

This time she groaned and Sirius grinned, happy to know she was just as reluctant to leave their privacy as he was.

"Come on, love, we'll get breakfast sent up here and sort everything out with Lily. Then we can run through the meetings today and be back to normal."

Marlene kept her eyes closed, but her hands slid along his chest and Sirius decided that they probably had a bit more time than he might have originally thought.

A little later, Sirius pulled his shirt over his head. "I'll go grab clothes for James and have breakfast sent here."

"I'll get dressed and then wake them up," Marlene tossed his shoes at him before moving to her wardrobe.

Sirius finished dressing before moving to stand behind Marlene.

"This one," he kissed her neck and pulled out the blue dress she wore the day she'd come back to him.

"Really?" She looked up at him with a smile.

"I like when your clothes make you look dangerous, and I can see where your hidden daggers are when you wear this one." He kissed her before stepping back and moving to the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Marlene nodded him out and Sirius pointedly told the page boy to mind his own business when he asked if the King and Princess had spent the night together. The palace politicking drove him mad. It only took a few minutes to change and grab James' clothes. Then he was back in Marlene's room just as she finished plaiting her hair back. The blue dress hugging her in that way that drove him mad.

"You were quick," She grinned at him.

"As long as you never say that in a specific connotation, I'll take it as a compliment."

Marlene rolled her eyes at him and Sirius took it as an invitation to kiss her. He took most things as an invitation to kiss her.

"I thought we were waking them up," Marlene murmured against him.

"We are," Sirius moved to kiss her neck.

Marlene chuckled, "Really, because this doesn't feel like waking them."

Sirius rested his head in the crook of her neck and sighed.

"Alright, let's go wake our sovereign."

Marlene knocked on the door before opening it slowly. Then she covered her mouth to hold in her quiet laugh. She gestured for Sirius to look in and Sirius grinned at the sight of Lily and James wrapped up in each other's arms as they slept.

"Well, at least we know that we won't have to worry about the heir being born too early." He joked.

Marlene smacked his chest but she laughed with him.

"Could you two be any louder?" James grumbled.

Sirius smirked, "You're lucky I like Lily, or I'd show you just how much louder I can be."

"Thank you," Lily's tired voice mumbled back.

Sirius bowed deeply, then he threw James' clothes at him.

"Now get dressed you two, breakfast should be here in the next ten minutes."

"We'll be in the sitting room if you need us," Marlene added before grabbing Sirius' hand and pulling him away from James and Lily.

"Are you sure she's going to forgive me?" Marlene bit her lip as they walked into the sitting room.

Sirius pulled her into him and traced the dagger that was hidden down the front of her bodice.

"I'm positive, love," he kissed her neck, "you'll see, she wants this, we want this, James wants this. You'll be bound to James and that will be the end of it."

Marlene let his hands slide along her chest and Sirius briefly wondered what they might be able to get away with before breakfast was brought up.

Fate must have wanted a good laugh because breakfast was brought in at that moment. But Sirius smiled along with Fate, because she may like to have a laugh, but she definitely cared enough about him to give him Marlene, and as far as Sirius was concerned, Fate must think pretty highly of him.


	76. Chapter 76

**James:**

There was not a break to be caught. James was rightly peeved that the one night he somehow manages to be with Lily he's too exhausted to properly enjoy the time with her. And now that he was awake and more rested than he'd been in his entire life, they had the rest of the day to get to.

Then Lily stirred in his arms and James' brain quieted for a moment.

"At least Sirius didn't try to be as loud as he could." Lily murmured into his shirt from the day before.

James grinned at the way Lily's hair was mused from sleep. He'd missed seeing her first thing in the morning before either of them had the chance to make themselves presentable.

"Merlin, I've missed you," James kissed her and pulled her completely against him.

"We've just been asleep, James," Lily laughed.

James kissed her further, "Yes, but this is different."

Lily smiled against him, "I suppose it is."

James moved to kiss down her neck, but Lily pulled back. "James, darling, we have a lot to get done today. We need to get up."

James kissed her once more before sighing, "What would I do without you Lils?"

Lily kissed him, "Probably be some sort of mess."

James laughed and pushed himself up out of the bed and grabbed the clothes that Sirius had retrieved for him.

"I'll get changed in Marlene's room."

"What?" Lily blinked at him.

James chuckled, "Lily, I'm not going to be able to keep my hands off of you if we change in the same room, guaranteed."

Lily blushed but her smile was full of mischief. "That seems like a good reason for you to stay."

James groaned and moved to the door, "I love you."

Lily laughed, "I love you too, now go get changed."

James bowed deeply before moving into Marlene's room and changing.

"Lils," he knocked on her door, "I'm going to wait for you out with Sirius and Marlene."

Lily opened the door, her dress on but her hair still tousled. Then she kissed him passionately.

"You sure you want to wait out with them?" She smirked when she pulled back.

James kissed her again before stepping back. "I told you, if I don't put some other people in the mix with us then I'm going to lose the tenuous hold I have on myself as it is."

Lily smiled at him from the doorway. "You're probably right," she sighed, "I'll be there in just a moment."

"I'll miss you," James took another step back toward the door to the sitting room.

Lily laughed, "You're ridiculous."

James smiled and then moved out to the sitting room.

"Took you long enough," Sirius looked up as he entered. Breakfast was already in the room and the food smelled heavenly.

"How's Lily?" Marlene looked down at her plate and James blinked at the dejected look she wore.

"She's alright, a little upset, understandably, but she's alright."

Marlene nodded and Sirius moved his hand to massage her neck.

James let them have the moment as he served himself breakfast.

"Good morning," Lily's voice sounded behind him and James felt his smile grow wide.

"Good morning, Princess," he stood and pulled out her chair.

Lily kissed him briefly on the cheek before sitting down and looking across at Marlene. "It really sucked to have you going around behind my back. I wish you would have just told me what had happened and worked through what you wanted with me."

Marlene nodded and her voice cracked as she spoke, "I am so sorry. I shouldn't have completely blocked you out of a decision as big as this. I'm so sorry, Lils."

Lily stood and moved to Marlene's side before pulling her into a hug. "I know, and I'm alright. We're alright."

James smiled as Lily and Marlene clung to each other. Sometimes the parallels he saw between them and himself and Sirius were uncanny, and other times, like this moment, they made him appreciate his brother a little more.

"Well then," Lily wiped a tear from her cheek and moved back to her chair. "How do we go about getting you bound to James?"

"We were talking about having both Marlene and I take the official oath with both of you." Sirius turned to James.

"I don't know if we can fit that in today. Maybe tomorrow?" James tried to mentally run through the schedule they had today.

"That's fine," Lily nodded, "after dinner maybe? I don't think we have any other meetings after dinner tomorrow."

James grinned, "I'm a fan of the idea, then we could spend the evening celebrating."

Lily blushed and bit her lip, giving James a covert smile.

"Just make sure that your heir comes far enough after the wedding not to cause issues." Sirius teased. "This court has a tendency to stick their noses where they don't belong."

James shoved him, but he knew Sirius was right. This same court was the one that had caused his dad to make Sirius his guardian, and the same one that had lost seven of its members because they tried to overthrow him.

"Let's keep this with just the four of us as well," James added. "I don't want anyone making a problem before we have a chance to make this happen."

"Whatever you think is best, love," Lily gave his hand a squeeze, and James smiled.

Waking up with Lily that morning had somehow helped him see that moving forward was what he wanted. Including going back into the King's rooms, his rightful rooms, with Lily by his side.


	77. Chapter 77

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be back on June 20th with another update. I'm also working on a multichapter tedoire story, if that interests you, keep a lookout for Endeavor, hopefully posting in the next couple of weeks. :)

**Marlene:**

Marlene took a deep breath and placed her wand over their hands. Sirius' hand grasped Lily's wrist, and her his.

"Alright," Marlene looked over at James and then back and Sirius and Lily. "Are we all ready?"

"Yes," Lily smiled, but her tone was determined.

"Here we go," Marlene waved her wand and nodded to Sirius to begin the oath.

He locked eyes with Lily as he spoke.

"As I have breath, I pledge my life to your protection. As my heart beats, I will keep you from all harm. My life is forever pledged to yours, and on my honor, I will lay down my life to keep you alive."

Marlene waved her wand again and red lights shot out and wrapped around their clasped arms, tying them together, guardian and charge.

The lights faded and Sirius stepped back before kneeling in front of Lily.

"It is an honor to serve you, my Queen."

Lily smiled and looked up at James. "I like being called the Queen."

Sirius stood and rolled his eyes. "Here I try to make something special and she goes and ruins it with a snarky comment to my brother."

Marlene laughed and took his hand in hers. "She asked when dinner was after I was bound to her."

"Yes," Lily glared at her, "because we'd been so busy with trying to get things ready for me to go back to Petunia that day, we'd forgotten to eat lunch and I was starving. But," she turned back to Sirius and gave him a hug, "I am very excited to have a big brother."

Sirius laughed and hugged her back, "See, this is why you make a good Queen. You keep us on our toes."

"Maybe we get this over with," James looked out the window. "I have one more thing I want us to do tonight."

"What's that?" Sirius pulled out this wand and Marlene holstered hers.

"I'll show you once we're finished." James reached out and took Marlene's wrist in his hand.

Marlene gripped his wrist and locked eyes with James. She felt her heart rate increase and tried to breathe a little deeper.

Sirius waved his wand and nodded to her. Marlene chastised herself for feeling nervous and began the oath.

"As I have breath, I pledge my life to your protection. As my heart beats, I will keep you from all harm. My life is forever pledged to yours, and on my honor, I will lay down my life to keep you alive."

Sirius finished the wand movement and the familiar warm red lights wrapped around her and James' clasped wrists. If she was honest, Marlene would have to admit that she was surprised the oath hadn't taken her and Sirius the moment the spells had finished. No one had ever been bound to more than one person before. But the lights faded and she still stood breathing.

So, she dropped to one knee.

"I am ever in your service, my King."

James crouched down in front of her and Marlene nearly fell over from the shock of it.

"Marlene, we're family, and my family doesn't kneel before me." He took her hand and pulled her to standing and Marlene laughed as James pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, Marly, for everything."

Marlene smiled and looked over at Sirius who chuckled at her. She'd been reluctant to grow attached to James in all of this, but she realized it had been a fruitless effort because James had won her over just as quickly as Sirius had. These brothers were the kind of men you couldn't help but love, despite their quirks and faults.

"You're welcome, James." Marlene looked back at her new King. "Now, what did you want us to do before we retire for the evening?"

James stepped back and Marlene watched his hand lodge itself into his hair.

"Why don't you three follow me?"

Marlene shared a long look with Sirius.

"Everything alright, James?" Sirius turned back to James.

"Yeah, just, I want to show Lily something." James avoided Sirius' gaze and Marlene tried to catch his eye to no avail.

Lily stepped up to James' side and took his hand. "I'd love to see what you have to show me."

James seemed to relax and pulled Lily into him, "I think you're going to like it."

Sirius stepped up next to Marlene as James moved with Lily out the door.

"Do you know what he's on about?"

Marlene shook her head. "I was hoping you would."

Sirius frowned and picked up their pace.

James led them down a corridor that Marlene hadn't been down, and Marlene suspected that no one had been in this wing for some time as James had to light the lamps with his wand. It put her on edge.

"James," Sirius' voice was tight, but James ignored him with a shake of his head and pressed on.

Marlene tried to catch Sirius' eye but he ignored her, focusing directly ahead of him.

"Where are we?" Lily asked as James finally came to a stop in front of a beautifully ornate door.

"These are the King and Queen's rooms." James straightened his shoulders and pushed the door open.

Marlene started to follow them in but stopped when Sirius sat down on the floor and dropped his head on his arms as they rested on his knees.


	78. Chapter 78

**Lily:**

Lily's breath caught as they entered the royal rooms.

They were beautiful. Brocades and tapestries adorned the walls and the far wall had large windows to look out on the grounds.

James caught her trying to make out what was beyond the palace wall in the night and pulled her closer. "You can't see it now, but the view out these windows is perfect."

"I didn't realize you weren't living in the King's quarters." Lily rested her head against his chest.

"This is the first time I've been in here since Mum passed actually."

Lily turned to look up at James. "Wait? You haven't been back in here since you were made King?"

James looked around like he wanted to bring people back to life and his eyes held the pain of an orphaned child, a pain Lily knew intimately.

"I understand," she took his hand in hers. "I know."

James nodded and gripped her hand. "Merlin, this is harder than I thought it would be."

Lily looked around and lit the smaller lanterns James hadn't with her wand. She smiled as a small corner desk came into view.

"That was your mother's?" Lily pointed to it.

James shoved a hand in his hair and nodded. "How could you tell?"

"The family portrait above it." Lily pulled him to the desk in the corner. "How old are you and Sirius here?"

James slowly brought his hand up to trace the frame. "We were sixteen. You wouldn't believe the fuss that this sitting caused. Sirius didn't want to do it, something about not belonging, there were so many members of our court that were furious when they found out, mostly because Mum had never asked _them_ to sit for a portrait with the Royal family. But she just told everyone to stop behaving like children."

Lily laughed and reached up to touch the image of Queen Euphemia. "She would be proud of you James."

"Does it still hurt like yesterday for you?" James choked. "Does it ever get easier?"

Lily sighed and pulled James to sit on the small loveseat with her. "It depends on the day. Some days it hurts the way it did when Elspeth told me Mum had passed and she held me while I cried. Other days, I, well I forget to even think about her and Dad. It doesn't get easier; it just keeps changing and I've learned to be patient and ride it out."

James was quiet as he held her close. Lily adjusted to be able to run her fingers through his hair and for a long while they sat there in silence.

"I brought you here today because I wanted you to see where we ought to be moving in after the ceremony." He sighed. "Technically, I should already be living here, I just…"

"You don't have to live here, James." Lily shook her head. "Not now, not ever."

James looked around the room and fisted his hand in his hair. "If it just didn't feel like they'd walk out at any moment this would be easier."

Lily bit her lip, "What if, what if we made it so it didn't feel like that? What if we redecorated? New furniture, new layout, new tapestries, new drapes? Marlene and Sirius will need to adjust the guardians' rooms anyway. We could make a project out of it, make these rooms ours?"

James hunched over and rested his elbows on his knees. "Doesn't that disgrace their memory or something?"

"No, because I know your parents loved you and that means they'd want you to be happy." Lily rubbed her hand up and down his back. "If making this space your own is going to help you be happy and move forward, then you're doing what they'd want you to do."

James was quiet again and Lily worried she may have pushed him too far.

"But you can leave this room exactly how it is and wait until you're ready. You're in charge and you get to move at your own pace."

"We've got a wedding to plan." James finally spoke. "Do you think we could put these quarters in order as well?

Lily smiled. "That's the beauty of it. There's no real deadline. Marly and Sirius won't complain about sharing a room so we can always move into your rooms until this is done. We don't need to have the wedding and the redecorating done all in one go."

"That's good," James nodded, "because we have one other thing to consider before we can make these rooms our own."

Lily frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Sirius didn't follow us in here."

Lily turned back to the door and James followed her gaze. She had assumed that Sirius and Marlene were simply allowing them some space, but she was shocked to find Sirius crouched against the corridor, Marlene kneeling next to him.

And then she felt her chest start to ache because Lily suddenly realized that if anything happened to Elspeth, she'd probably never get over it. And Queen Euphemia had been Sirius' Elspeth. The woman who taught him to grieve the loss of a family who he felt the need to leave wasn't around to help him grieve this time. Lily had often felt like she was alone, but she suddenly realized how much more alone Sirius must have felt than she ever did.

And James just brought him back to the place that probably made his loneliness feel all-consuming.


	79. Chapter 79

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting early because the mountains are calling me and the fish are calling my husband. So we're doing that tomorrow morning. Enjoy a Friday night update! I'll post again on June 27th.

**Sirius:**

He knew.

He knew the moment they made that first turn.

He knew where they were going. He knew what James was doing.

So why can't he get up? Why is he collapsed against the wall trying to breathe?

"Sirius."

Marlene's hand was on his shoulder, but she felt very far away. Everything felt very far away.

Everything except the way his chest was collapsing. That was excruciatingly close at hand.

"Breathe, love," Marlene's voice was quiet and Sirius wondered if it was because she was whispering or if it was because he was going to pass out.

"These are their rooms, aren't they?" Marlene's hand was in his hair. "These are the King's quarters?"

Sirius' throat was too tight to speak, and all he managed was a rather pathetic grunt. Merlin, he was a mess. What sort of weak child was he? He couldn't even answer a simple question.

"I'll keep us safe," she murmured as her nails slid along his scalp. "Just let it run its course and try to breathe."

He wasn't sure how long they sat there, but he was sure that he'd not had to work so hard to breathe since the week that both Monty and Mia had passed. He'd worked hard to not even think about them as gone because it was too much. He couldn't function with this grief, so he pushed it as far away as he possibly could and ignored it. He turned that part of himself off. He refused to face it.

Now it was crushing him.

"Mum says that the best thing to do is to breathe through the worst of it." Marlene murmured at some point, and Sirius desperately envied her.

Her family was whole, and he was alone, completely and utterly alone.

And maybe that was what pushed his grief into anger.

"How would you know?"

Sirius didn't look up at her. Somewhere in the cognitive part of his brain, he knew that he was lashing out, that he was being unfair, and since he couldn't get a grip on himself, he wouldn't let himself see her face. He didn't want to see the evidence of the pain that he had inflicted.

To his shock, she laughed. Not the joyful laugh he was used to hearing, more like a relieved laugh, but laughter none the less.

"Would it help you feel better if we sparred?"

Sirius snapped his head up. "What?"

"We can spar and you can work through some of these emotions." The hurt he expected to see in her face was nowhere to be found. Instead, she was smiling at him.

"I don't, I, maybe, I don't know." Sirius pushed his head back into the wall behind him.

"That's alright," Marlene rubbed her hand along his arm, "Right now just focus on breathing. If you can breathe your body will start to give your brain control again."

Sirius didn't understand, but he closed his eyes and tried to think more about the breath he was drawing in and not about the enormity of the hole in his heart.

"When did they pass?" Marlene squeezed his hand.

Sirius didn't open his eyes, "About a year ago, now."

"Mum lost her sister when they were girls," Marlene's voice was quiet, soothing. "She helped Lily when her dad and then her mum passed."

Sirius swallowed, "So what great wisdom do you have?"

"That it's going to hurt for a long time."

Sirius scoffed, "You're a right ball of sunshine, aren't you?"

Marlene laughed, "And that you're going to be alright. You aren't alone, you have James, me, Lily, and my mother is completely taken with you. Just because Monty and Mia passed doesn't mean you're lost."

Sirius let her words wash over him, and he tried to believe them. He pushed himself to trust that this little patchwork family he'd ended up in was secure, that he could count on them.

And that choice, to trust that he wasn't actually alone, that seemed to slow his frantic heart, that seemed to restore control over his breathing, and he began to feel human again.

"When I showed up here, I was sixteen, and Mia and Monty took me in, I thought I'd have forever to show them how grateful I was." Sirius wanted to talk, he wanted to let everything out. "And then last winter, they were old and caught something small, not even Remus thought they ought to worry about it, but within a week they were gone, and I just, I felt like I'd let them down. Mia immediately started calling me her son when James brought me home, and she made such a fuss to have me with them at all the royal functions, even before I was made James' guardian. You should have heard Monty yell at some of the courtiers because they thought I was a spy from Knockturn. Mia and he kept insisting that I was their second son. They created a lot of enemies for me, and then they were gone."

"I think that you've done quite a lot to show your gratitude," Marlene brushed her hand against his cheek. "You defended James when those traitors tried to assassinate him. You followed him to Privet as his only escort. You've always been loyal to their son, and I'm sure that they would be proud of you, Sirius. You just have to believe it. You just have to trust it."

He sighed and chose to believe Marlene, just for a little while. He chose to believe that they'd be proud of him, that they'd know how grateful he was, that they'd know he loved them, even though he had initially struggled to come out and say it.

Sirius chose to believe it all, and finally, he felt like he had control again, finally he felt like he could stop looking back. He felt like he could move forward.


	80. Chapter 80

**James:**

James knelt next to Marlene in front of Sirius.

"I had to come here, Sirius," he put a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"James and I were thinking we could go through and completely remodel these rooms, make them feel different, something the four of us could call our own." Lily knelt next to him.

"We would obviously take down the wall between Ruth's and Elias' old rooms," James added, "You and Marlene could make those up however suits you."

Sirius finally opened his eyes and took a deep breath. "Thanks, all of you. I think I'll wait to go in until we've had everything pulled out."

"Are you sure?" James squeezed his shoulder, "It actually helped me a lot to be in there a moment."

Sirius nodded, "I'll do better if it's empty. If Mum's comb is still on her desk, I might lose it."

James looked back into his parents' rooms, "So you don't want to go through their things then?"

Sirius let out a long sigh, "I don't want to do it in there."

"We could have their things packed up and brought to your rooms," Lily looked at James. "That way you can both go through their things in a neutral place."

James kissed her cheek, "You're full of good ideas."

"Why don't we close this up and we can talk to the maid staff about having everything boxed and brought to your rooms?" Marlene stood and peeked into the King's quarters.

James watched her and an idea came to him. "Why don't I sit out here with Sirius, and Marlene and Lily, you two go in and take a look around, get ideas for how you'd like things to change?"

Marlene bit her lip as she looked down at Sirius, but he gave her a small smile and waved her forward. "Don't worry, we'll be alright for a few minutes."

Marlene looked over at Lily who was already back in the rooms. "If you need anything, just shout."

"Go," Sirius waved her off.

James chuckled as she followed Lily. He sat down next to Sirius and looked over at his brother.

"You aren't mad at me then?"

"No, I knew what we were doing the moment we turned down that first corridor."

James sighed. "You know, I think once we get through the wedding and getting us moved in here and whatever is going to happen with Privet."

"Just all that?" Sirius laughed and James grinned as the traces of his brother started to push up to the surface again.

"We're capable, we'll have all that handled by the end of the week."

"Whatever will we do next?"

"I was thinking we'd throw tradition a bit further out to sea." James felt his feelings on the matter solidifying. "We're going to challenge the need for guardians. I'm fine if my heir has a companion at arms, but I don't want guardians that have to sacrifice everything in the name of protecting their charge. Look at Ruthy and Elias, they outlived Mum and Dad, and now they have nothing to fall back on. The court threw a fit when I put Elias on the Privy Council and then insisted that Ruth live here when she turned me down to be on the Council. There were courtiers that honestly expected me to throw them out because their job was done."

"Thank you," Sirius cut him off with a grin.

James shoved a hand in his hair, realizing he'd been rambling. "I just, you and Marlene could have so much more here, and you can't because of stupid traditions and politics."

"Don't take this the wrong way," Sirius grinned, "But I wouldn't back out of the oath, even if there was a way to do so. You're right to want to change things, to make it better for your heir, but you needed my protection. You needed someone who you could trust would be loyal no matter what."

"We can't do away with a protector entirely," James nodded, "but you have to admit, it would be nice to know that you and Marlene being together wasn't a situation of risking your lives to do so."

Sirius inclined his head, "There is that. Binding the four of us together actually helps ease both mine and Marlene's minds about it. When we go, we'll go together."

James blinked, "Wait, what do you mean?"

"If at any point one or the other of us fail, we both pay the price. We won't have to worry about trying to move forward the way that Ruth and Elias are now. We'll move on to whatever is next together."

"See," James fisted his hand in his hair, "This is why we need to do away with making people guardians. We need something that doesn't force you into sacrificing your lives along with fully living. I promise, marriage is a much nicer option than compacting to die together."

Sirius shrugged, "I'll take what I can get at this point, James. If I'd stayed in Knockturn I'd already be married off to some banshee and hating my life. This is an immense improvement over that."

"Well," James chuckled, "Let's make history then, and have you be the last Royal guardian of Godric's Hollow. We'll figure out something different for my heir and for all the rulers that follow them."

Sirius nodded and let it be silent for a few moments before he smiled at James.

"They'd be proud of you," Sirius gestured into their parents' room.

James put his hand on Sirius' shoulder, "They'd be proud of you too, brother."

Sirius nodded and leant back into the wall. James grinned at the sound of the women laughing from the rooms. Their laughter would be the sound of the future if James had anything to say about it.


	81. Chapter 81

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are almost at the end, my friends. Next week will be the last installment of this story, and we'll leave these four to their own devices. I'll post again on Friday, July 3rd. :)

**Marlene:**

Sirius pulled Marlene closer as everyone around them laughed. The weeks they had to wait for her family to make it to Godric's Hollow had been prolonged thanks to James' and Lily's letter that convinced Petunia to finally come to her senses. But that had meant the magic users of Privet needed to focus on negotiating terms and that meant the McKinnon's weren't running back to Godric's Hollow. They'd passed the weeks much like they were passing this evening, sitting in James' rooms with Remus and Peter, talking and laughing as the night passed by.

But tonight, there were a few more people gathered with them.

"I tell you, Angus," Remus laughed, "I've never talked so fast in my life."

Her dad wiped his eyes as he tried to breathe through his laughter. "I can't even imagine it! You four managed to get yourselves into some entertaining situations."

Peter shook his head. "I don't think my heart can take them as often as I used to be able to."

Remus put a hand on Pete's shoulder. "You're only twenty Pete."

"Marriage has a way of calming us down," Angus grinned and grabbed Elspeth's hand.

"I don't know," Peter laughed, "I feel like from the moment that James agreed to marry Lily things have been more chaotic."

"Oi!" James kicked at Peter's foot.

"Engagements are always chaotic," Elspeth chuckled.

"Then thank goodness the wedding is tomorrow." Sirius' murmured quietly into Marlene's hair.

Marlene hummed softly and pressed herself back against his chest.

"Did you lot get everything finished with the King's rooms?" Remus looked at Sirius and Marlene.

"Amazingly enough, we did," Sirius chuckled, "but only thanks to Elias and Ruth taking over for us on occasion."

"Where are they?" James looked towards the door as if to summon them.

"They've taken it upon themselves to double-check that Sirius and I didn't miss anything in the enchantments of the new guardians' room." Marlene chuckled.

"It doesn't hurt to have them double-check, dear." Elspeth laughed. "Besides, I think they should spend more time together."

"You're as bad as those two," Marlene gestured at Lily and James.

"Are you saying that us wanting them to be happy is a bad thing?" Lily dramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Marly wasn't kidding when she said you were sillier now," Catherine rolled her eyes.

"No, she's happy," Angus chuckled as he pulled Catherine into a hug.

"And she's going to have bags under her eyes for her wedding day if we don't let her get to bed." Elspeth smiled as she stood. "Off with us, let the bride get her rest."

Everyone cleared out of James' rooms, leaving the two couples on their own.

"I keep saying this," James grinned as he pulled Lily into his embrace, "but I can't believe we made it here."

"I have to agree," Sirius chuckled, "I was sure Lily was ultimately going to kill you."

"I won't deny that the thought never crossed my mind," Lily laughed, and then kissed James as he pouted at her comment.

"See, this is why he keeps doing it," Marlene gestured at her sister and brother. "She's rewarding him for ridiculous behavior."

Sirius smirked, "Like when you still spar with me even though you know I'm goading you?"

Marlene grinned, "Yes, but that leads us to better places when we're off the sparring field."

"I don't want to know!" James covered his ears. "Honestly, you two, that's my brother and sister you're talking about!"

They all laughed and Marlene couldn't help but feel like she'd found her home for the first time since she'd moved into the palace in Privet with Lily.

"We should walk you to your rooms," James nuzzled Lily's hairline, "For nostalgia's sake."

"How you two have managed this long is a miracle, honestly," Sirius traced his hand along the sheath of Marlene's favorite dagger and she found herself wishing they were in tomorrow and not today.

James shrugged, "It isn't worth creating a situation where our heir's validity is questioned. We're just making their life easier."

"You're going to make an amazing father, James," Marlene felt her chest ache a little at the thought of Lily and James having children. They would, of course, but it had felt so distant to Marlene until today, the eve of their wedding.

"We'll certainly try to be good parents," Lily kissed James' cheek.

"You, my queen, will not need to try, you're amazing at everything."

Lily laughed, "I've never been a mother before, so it remains to be seen if I'm good at it."

"Mum will be here to help you," Marlene yawned, "But I agree with getting to our rooms. Tomorrow is going to be a full day."

They walked down to Lily and Marlene's rooms, everything they didn't need for this week had been moved to the King's quarters already, and everything else would be moved by the staff tomorrow during the wedding feast.

"I think I'll just stay here tonight," James sat down in a chair.

"She'll never be ready for the wedding if you stay here," Marlene laughed. "Go to sleep in your own rooms tonight."

Sirius kissed her neck before smirking at James. "She's right, let's give the ladies their space tonight. It's their last chance to realize they can back out before it's too late."

Marlene rolled her eyes, "We'll be there tomorrow, for better or worse."

Sirius kissed her and Marlene ignored James' cry of protest. They were making history, and she was going to make sure history painted them the way they really were - in love.


	82. Chapter 82

**Lily:**

She was getting married today. After a few months short of a year from Petunia telling Lily that she'd be sent off to marry the King of Godric's Hollow, Lily was now marrying him of her own accord. She'd chosen him. After everything that could have torn them apart, the world working against them, they had chosen to keep coming back to each other, regardless of how hard things around them were, they'd chosen each other.

"Lily?" Elspeth peaked her head into her room. "Are you ready?"

Lily smiled, "Yes, I'm ready."

She took one last look in the mirror and smoothed the front of her wedding gown before giving her second mother a hug. "Thank you, Elspeth, for everything."

"My darling, your mother was one of my dearest friends. I would do anything to help you."

Lily nodded as she blinked back the tears and swallowed the lump climbing in her throat.

"Lily, they would be so very proud of the woman you've become," Elspeth took her face in her hands. "I know because Angus and I are proud of you, immensely proud, my darling."

"Even after all the things that I messed up?"

Elspeth chuckled, "They would be proud for the same reasons that Angus and I are. We're proud of how you've handled your mistakes, how you've grown from them, how you've become a queen who works for the good of her people."

"You're going to make me cry," Lily gave a watery laugh, "but thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, dear." Elspeth kissed her cheek. "Now, let's get you to your wedding."

The walk to the throne room where she and James would be married was full of pomp and circumstance. And Lily knew the wedding would also be full of pomp and circumstance, as would a large portion of her life from here on out. But when the doors opened and Lily stepped out with Marlene on her right and Angus on her left, her eyes landed on James and everything else faded away.

Their lives would be full of things that they'd prefer not to go through, just as their lives up to this point had been full of those things. But as she walked to James, Lily knew that the pomp and circumstance that would be abundant in their lives wouldn't matter as long as James was by her side. As long as they continued to choose each other, even when life was hard, even when they might prefer not to, then they'd make it, they'd be happy.

The pomp and circumstance followed them through the ceremony, her coronation as Queen of Godric's Hollow, and into the celebratory feast. But once the feast was finally over, Lily breathed a sigh of relief as she walked with her husband and siblings to the royal rooms.

"How does it feel?" Marlene teased her.

Lily laughed, "I'm so happy your teasing doesn't even register."

Marlene smirked but shrugged, "I was talking about being queen, I have no idea what you inferred."

"I concur with Lily," James moved his hand from her waist to her hand and spun her around. "It feels amazing!"

"Marriage or having a queen?" Sirius chuckled.

"Both," James gave Sirius a shove. "Besides, you two can't tell us you haven't been just as excited about this as we've been."

Sirius bowed deeply, "I would like to say that I have unashamedly worked to push you this way since the moment we all reunited here in Godric's Hollow."

Lily laughed and gave Sirius a hug, "Take care of my sister."

"Can I consider that a royal command?" Sirius smirked over at Marlene who rolled her eyes, but her smile was wide across her face.

"If it keeps the two of you from interrupting us tomorrow aside from letting food be brought in, then yes." James laughed and pulled Lily into him.

"You heard our King, Marls," Sirius winked at her. "We've been commanded to take care of each other."

"Actually, it sounded a great deal like you were commanded to take care of me." Marlene grinned wickedly.

"Stop," James groaned, "Just, take care of each other and keep your intimate lives to yourselves."

Lily winked at Marlene. She'd have to find some time for the two of them to have some girl talk once they weren't back to their normal lives.

"Don't worry, James, we've determined to not model anything for you anymore." Marlene chuckled.

"Good," Lily smiled, "but the two of you should be a bit more forward now in front of the court members."

Marlene nodded as Sirius took her hand. "We're going to start slow. Ruth had the idea of just letting the staff gossip about it. And she plans to paint us into some sort of love story with the citizens she's friends with. We'll start letting our affection be public once she's laid some groundwork for us."

"Has Elias come around?" James asked as Sirius opened the door to the royal rooms, their rooms.

"Ruth talked to him, he's not nearly so against it now." Sirius nodded. "But these are all things we can discuss later. We've nothing to do tonight, nor the next week your Majesty. Therefore, as your closest advisor and your guardian, I advise you to carry your bride to your room and start working on securing an heir."

Lily laughed as James rolled his eyes, but he did sweep Lily up and carry her to their bed, Sirius and Marlene laughing behind them.


	83. Chapter 83

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end, my friends...

**Sirius:**

It was heaven.

Sirius' head was nuzzled against Marlene's neck as they held each other in their new bed in their new room. The moonlight streaked through the window casting a silver tint over Marlene's skin and a softer sheen on her golden curls. She was more beautiful than any wall tapestry could ever hope to be, and she was laying in their bed, clinging to him as though her life depended on it.

Yes, this had to be heaven.

"I love you." Marlene murmured as she brought her fingers to play in his hair.

"I love you."

"Can you believe it?" She sighed contentedly. "Can you believe we're here?"

Sirius finally pushed up to look at her, trying to maintain as much contact as he could in the process.

"It feels pretty amazing," he kissed her lips, long and slow, savoring the way her tongue slid along his and how her chest rose up to press against him.

"Do you know," Sirius kissed down her neck, "that the day we parted in Knockturn, I was immensely put out when we separated?"

Marlene chuckled, "Do you know how relieved I was that you called out to me as we walked away?"

Sirius ran his hand into her hair before cupping her neck and pressing his lips back to hers.

"Do you know," Marlene ran her nails down his chest, "that I almost turned around after you told me to run after the attack at the Ottery border?"

Sirius felt his heart beat faster and he kissed her more intently.

"Do you know that it took all of my self-control not to go after you?"

Marlene wrapped her arms around his neck and Sirius pushed her up further into the pillows.

"Do you know how scared I was that you'd push me away when I kissed out outside Enid?" She sighed into his mouth.

"Do you know how relieved I was when you did? I'd been restraining myself since we'd joined parties in Diagon." Sirius grinned against her.

Marlene pressed herself up to sit and pulled him close to straddle her.

"Do you know," he ran his hands up and down her waist, "that all I wanted to do before we left Frank's house was push you up against the wall and kiss you?"

Marlene smirked, "I definitely would have let you."

Sirius laughed and pushed her back against the pillows again, kissing her with the same passion he'd felt that morning.

"Now I can push you up against walls, and pillows, and mattresses," Sirius murmured as he kissed down her neck. He felt Marlene's breath catch and grinned against her.

"Alright there, Marls?"

"More than," she hummed.

"Not bad for the first day of our happily ever after, eh?" Sirius loomed above her watching the softness of her face that he'd first noticed that morning in Knockturn and had since fallen in love with it.

"We're the guardians," Marlene smiled up at him, "we're not supposed to get the 'happily ever after' like the king and princess."

"We make our own happily ever after, Marls," Sirius kissed her again, "we take what we have and we make it work so we have our own happiness. And it's better than any fairy tale ending because it's you and it's me and it's real and why would we want anything different?"

"You wouldn't go back and give us a more traditional story?" She traced his bicep and smiled up at him.

"Absolutely not," Sirius shook his head emphatically. "We wouldn't be here if not for how things were and how things are for us. If I hadn't run away from home, I'd be married off in some political union and miserable. I'd hate my life. But being James' guardian brought me to you, it gave me a more meaningful reason to want to be with you, it's why I fell in love with you."

Marlene smiled brighter than the stars in the sky as she looked up at him. "I wouldn't change anything either."

"Yeah?" Sirius brought his lips to hover above hers.

"Yeah, because it's us. This is our story. Why would I ever try to cheapen it by wishing for something else?"

He grinned as he pressed his lips against her for what had to be the millionth time that night.

And as Sirius lost himself in Marlene again, he couldn't help but feel how right her comment had been. This wasn't the tale of the Knight and the Fair Lady. This wasn't the storyline that he'd read in books or heard court ladies gossiping about. Their story didn't fit any narrative he'd heard before, and that was the beauty of it. Their story was true to who they were. Why would they ever wish for it to be different?


	84. Chapter 84

**James:**

James woke when he inhaled her long soft auburn colored hair.

And he smiled because there was only one reason for him to wake in such a way.

Lily lay in their bed, her naked form curled against his under their blankets. He reached over to the table next to their bed and grabbed his glasses. He wanted to see this glorious reality properly. Her face was completely relaxed, and the soft freckled skin that he had worshiped the night before appeared to glow in the sunlight filtering in through the large windows in their rooms.

His queen was radiant.

His wife had always been the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, but this morning felt surreal. This morning felt like he was living in a dream. Because James, for all his bravado during their traveling and the time leading up to Lily telling him she loved him, was never actually positive that he'd end up in this situation. He was never confident that this was what Lily would choose, that she would really, truly want him.

But his eyes showed him that he had made it. The woman he'd been so taken with and then fallen in love with had not only returned his favor, but she loved him back.

"Stop staring at me," Lily murmured and buried her face into his chest.

"I can't, love," James kissed the top of her head before kissing down her face to capture her lips again. "You're captivating."

Her cheeks tinged red and James thought she might kill him with how adorable she looked.

"It's unfair how beautiful you are first thing in the morning."

"It's unfair that you looking like I've had my hands in your hair all night makes me want to repeat the scenario all the more." Lily kissed him and James moved them to hover above her.

"What a brilliant idea, Your Majesty," James grinned down at her.

"I'm full of them, Your Majesty," Lily let her hands tangle in his hair again, and James hummed as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Lily's fingers combing through his black mane.

"What do you want to do today?" Lily asked, her hands still working their magic.

"This," James sighed happily, "I want to do this forever."

"Forget our kingdom and just run away? Escape to an isle across the sea and spend our days growing food and fishing and our nights wrapped up like this?"

James blinked his eyes open, "That was mighty specific, love."

Lily blushed, "That may have been one of my fantasies when we were traveling together."

"You were fantasizing about running away with me when we were traveling?" James knew he was grinning like a cat in the cream. "I think I'd like to hear more about these fantasies."

Lily's blush deepened but she smiled as she bit her lip. "Most of them involved crossing the ocean and hiding someplace far away while we made a life for ourselves."

James moved to his side and pulled Lily flush against him.

"I always thought it'd be rather fun to be the captain of a ship and sail the seas."

"I've never been on a ship before," Lily traced her fingers along his chest. "Would you consider it bad luck to have a woman aboard?"

James laughed, "I honestly wonder if sailors understand the irony of calling the sea a woman and then turning around and claiming a real woman on board is bad luck."

Lily grinned, "So you'd let me be a part of your crew?"

"Of course, who else would keep me in line? I'd need a reliable first mate and you'd obviously be my first choice."

"Where would we sail?"

James smiled as Lily's beautiful emerald eyes gazed up at him with mischief sparkling back at him.

"Wherever the wind may take us?"

"Off to uncharted territory, then? Maybe we'd meet people who work all their magic with songs, or perhaps people who have never seen or heard of magic at all."

James combed his fingers through Lily's long auburn hair and smiled at her perfect face looking up at him.

"I love dreaming with you," Were the words that finally escaped his lips. "I love thinking about what could be. I love that when you decide something is important, you don't let anything stop you. I love that you choose to be with me. I love that you choose to help me. I love you, and I love that you love me."

Lily tilted forward and kissed his lips and James lost himself in the feel of her pressed against him.

"I have something I'm feeling rather determined about at the moment." Lily grinned against his lips.

"Which is?" James kissed her further, letting his hands caress her soft skin.

"I think I'd like to give Godric's Hollow an heir." Lily bit lightly on his lip and James felt his breath hitch.

"I'm always happy to oblige, my Queen," James growled before turning them over so Lily was above him.

Looking up at her seemed to put their whole reality into perspective. Everything had ended exactly as he hoped it would. James had lived the fairy tale story, and while it hadn't been all smiles and sunshine, what he and Lily had grown to be felt deeper, more secure. His dad had once told him that the years of struggling for an heir and the attitude of the court surrounding it had been the hardest experience for his parents and their partnership, but that those were years his dad wouldn't give up for anything.

James understood why now. Because in the adversity, in the chaos and uncertainty, James knew that Lily would be who he'd choose every time, and she'd choose him. They had held each other up when life tried to push them down. And laying with her, the sun's morning rays filtering in through the windows, James felt like the author he thought was so torturing him throughout the last year or so, perhaps knew what they were doing after all.

Perhaps now, he could finally have some peace.


	85. Epilogue

**Harry:**

Crown Prince Harry looked over at Neville and held back his groan at the smirk his best friend wore. He still didn't understand what had had happened to get the Longbottoms to move to Godric's Hollow from Ottery and swear loyalty to his dad and be given places on the Privy Council, but Harry had grown up with Neville as though he was his twin. It made sense that Neville would be his companion at arms when he was traveling.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Neville smirked as they looked around at the rooms they'd been put up in by King Arthur.

"Easy for you to say," Harry shot back. "You were able to just fall in love with Hannah and now your parents are arranging everything."

"Yes, but your parents' marriage was arranged and that worked out well for them. They still make members of the Court sick with how they dote on each other, and they're going on twenty years of marriage."

Harry shook his head. His parents had asked him to just come down here and see. Apparently, Arthur had been pestering his dad for the last six or so years to arrange a marriage between Harry and his only daughter. James had finally agreed to send Harry down for a royal visit. His mum seemed to think it was a grand idea. She kept going on and on about how cute the princess had been when she was small. And all this would be fine, except that King Arthur had completely misunderstood the purpose of Harry's visit. He kept introducing him as Crown Prince Harry of Godric's Hollow, betrothed to Princess Ginevra.

"How about we go for a walk." Harry tried to shake the aggravation from his head. "I'm not due to be anywhere until dinner."

"Whatever is going to help ease your mind about meeting your fiancé," Neville shrugged with a laugh and tossed Harry his sword.

Harry belted it to his waist and holstered his wand. He walked out of the room and ignored the way Neville whistled happily as Harry took random turns here and there as they wandered the castle. He'd only been to Ottery's capital once before when he was five or six. He didn't remember what had made it so he and his sister had been brought along. Harry now wished that he could have been brought here a few more times. Maybe then he would have actually met Princess Ginevra before her dad had started calling him her fiancé.

One of his turns led them out to the training grounds and Harry caught sight of what looked like flames dancing. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a woman, her long fiery red hair braided down her back spun behind her as she worked through her exercises. His feet moved of their own accord, and before he knew it, he was standing ten feet from her, watching captivated as she moved.

"Do you often stand and stare at women?" The fiery woman stopped and pinned him with her gaze.

Harry blinked, "Sorry, just, er, you, er, I was impressed, with your, er, your technique."

She smirked, "Impressed enough to spar?"

Harry felt a grin break across his face. He'd been training with Uncle Sirius and Aunt Marlene since he was eleven.

"Definitely."

Harry pulled his dress shirt over his head and handed it to Neville. He grinned at how it took the woman a moment to drag her eyes back up to his.

"I have something I'm supposed to do later this evening, and I need that shirt to be in good shape for it."

She rolled her eyes, "Sure, you do. Have your friend hold your sword and wand as well."

Harry nodded and Neville took the last two things. "Be careful, your parents will kill me if we bring you home broken and bloodied."

The woman laughed, "I won't hurt him too much, at least not his face."

Harry grinned but he felt his cheeks grow hot. He liked this woman; he liked her a lot.

"The first to knock the other off their feet then?" He tried to bring up his voice back to its normal level.

"Yes, and no magic," She smirked at him and then began to circle him.

Harry focused on remembering everything that Sirius and Marlene had taught him as he circled. It turned out that sparing with Marlene was the best thing he could have done to prepare for this woman. She was small, not quite as small as Aunt Marlene, but her height forced her to spar in a similar fashion as Marlene, and Harry was familiar with how she fought.

And by the looks of it, he was the first person she'd encountered who had a grip on what she was doing.

"I think you may be cheating," She panted after he blocked her most recent strike and kept her from knocking his feet out from under him.

"How in Merlin's name could I be cheating?" Harry laughed. "I've never seen you until today."

She blocked his strike and then spun around but he blocked her strike. "I don't know but you're the first person I've fought who hasn't been on their back within five strikes."

"Shame that is," Harry moved them to position himself so that he could try the only move that could knock Aunt Marlene over, and one that Uncle Sirius swore him to secrecy on, along with a promise to never use it with Aunt Marlene.

"You didn't introduce yourself; you know." She followed him directly to where he needed her to be.

Harry nodded, "How rude of me." Then he lunged forward, and to his great satisfaction, it worked! The beautiful woman landed flat on her back, her hand still gripping his wrist where she'd tried to throw him over her with his own momentum.

"My name is Harry," He gripped her wrist back and pulled her to his feet. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Ginny," She looked at him with wide eyes. "And who taught you that?"

Harry shook his head, "The person who taught me has sworn me to secrecy. I'm not allowed to ever divulge their name."

"Pitty, I'd like to send them a letter of admiration." Ginny let go of his wrist and Harry felt a bit put out as the contact between them ended.

"I could deliver a letter to them." Harry shoved his hand in his hair.

"Nah," Ginny shrugged, "But, I was planning on leaving and exploring the world for the next twenty or so years, care to join me?"

Harry felt his whole body cry out as he shook his head no. "Believe me, Ginny, under different circumstances I'd probably follow you to the ends of the earth after a match like this, but I can't. I'm Prince Harry of Godric's Hollow. I'm actually here on business from my father, and then I'll be back home."

Ginny's eyes went wide. "You're Prince Harry?!"

Harry inclined his head, "The very same."

Ginny looked like he'd knocked the ground out from under her again.

"Harry," Neville called out. "We should get going, Arthur is going to want us in our seats before the rest of his court comes in."

"Right," Harry called back and then turned to Ginny. "Thank you, know that in another life, I wouldn't have thought twice about following you around the world." He took her hand and kissed it as he bowed slightly and walked away.

He didn't dare look back as they walked back to the rooms that Arthur had given him for his stay here. He was pretty sure he'd be too tempted to go back and tell Ginny he could probably spare a few months away from the kingdom, as long as no one knew he'd left Ottery...

"This is why you have the better lot," Harry shook his head after toweling off the dust from his torso. "You and Hannah got to have a moment like I just had with Ginny, and you got to do something about it. Ginny asked me to run away with her, and I had to turn her down because I'm tied to the Crown."

"I'm sorry, Harry, but who knows, maybe Princess Ginevra will be special too. You'll never know until you meet her." Neville handed him his shirt.

Harry tried to swallow his bitterness and believe that Neville could be right. His mum thought his dad would be a toe rag and it turned out that she actually really loved his dad. Maybe Harry would get lucky too.

They sat down at the table in the seats that they'd been assigned and Harry waited for Ottery's Royal Family to join them before the rest of their court would be admitted.

He looked up when the door opened and saw King Arthur and Queen Molly enter first, then Crown Prince William and his wife Princess Fleur But Harry's heart stopped when behind the Crown Prince was Ginny, but not like he'd seen her earlier in the day, no, now she would put the greatest marble sculptures to shame.

She came and sat next to him and Harry barely registered the way Neville tried to hide his laughter behind his hand.

"I thought that if you couldn't join me in traveling the world then maybe I could see what Godric's Hollow was like instead." She smiled brightly at him.

"Brilliant," Harry stared at her and thought that maybe he'd dismissed his mum's reassurance that he would absolutely love Princess Ginevra a bit too quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is finished. I wouldn't have guessed this story would total 88K words in my wildest dreams. Nor did I dream that it would create the little following that it did. For all of you who have followed this from start to finish, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! For all of you who read this now that it's finished posting, thank you! I hope that you've fallen in love with these four as much as I have. :) Until the next story friends. - Matrixaffiliate


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